With a Name Like Potter
by Nelliezabini4
Summary: It's Harry's seventh year at Hogwarts and Voldemort's at large. Harry's cousin, Myra Potter, comes to Hogwarts. A death, house-unity projects, Harry's true love,and Voldemort's one weakness all lead to the biggest battle yet. AU, Blairry slash.
1. Prologue

**Declaimer:** I own nothing; it all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I do kinda own Natalya/Nellie, and various other made up characters, but they are all for the sole purpose of my enjoyment.

Please feel free to review, however please don't completely crush my hopes and dreams for this story. This is just the creation of my imagination and was written for the enjoyment of writing it…and then re-reading it over and over and over again.

**WARNING:** there is slash in this story so if you don't like that then continue reading with great caution.

Great thanks for Proudmudblood42 for editing this!

Hope you enjoy!

Prologue:

Rain dripped from the sky, sliding down the back of his neck, but the boy did not notice. His eyes were fixed on the figure before him. Mud squished under his new, black leather boots, ruining them, but for once he did not care.

He trod through the rows of headstones, never taking his eyes off the girl ahead of him. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, she was merely feet before him. He took in the sight of her; her dark hair that lay in soft waves down her back, the way that her black cloak fell down her back and gathered perfectly at her feet. Most of all he watched the white flakes as they settled on her lovely curls. Flakes? The boy looked up and noticed it was snowing, the powdery whiteness already covering the tops of the tombs.

He knelt down and tapped this girl lightly on the shoulder. She stood slowly and he stood up with her. As she turned around the boy felt hope shoot through his heart- she was alive. Her face was beautiful and the boy smiled at the thought of them being together again. He slowly reached for her hand to entwine his fingers in hers. His fingers brushed against her skin and goose bumps ran up his arm. Something was wrong. Her skin was cold, her touch like ice. He looked up into her face with shock. She was smiling, but her teeth were horrible yellowed fangs, stained with blood. He gaped at her.

"What?" she asked. "You forget...I'm dead". Then she laughed; cold, high, and cruel. She stopped suddenly and stepped closer to him. "and you will join me." she hissed. She grabbed him with iron hands, placing a hand on his chest, right where his heart was. Icy fingers seemed to encircle his heart, strangling it. His vision became blurred, black spots dancing before his eyes.

"I have seen your heart" she whispered, so close he could feel her breath. "and it tis mine." Then the hands closed even tighter, trying to wrench his heart from his chest.

"And you WILL die."


	2. Chapter 1: What Have You Done?

Chapter 1- What have you done?

Draco Malfoy awoke with a scream on his lips, one hand clutched to his heart. He looked around frantically, finding he was in his own room alive and safe. He lay silently praying that no one had heard him. But no one came. They were used to hearing his screams at night.

Draco got out of bed and walked to the window, looking at the stars above, wondering if she was up there watching him. He wondered if she still... But then he stopped. Thinking of her was still too painful.

Draco sighed and got back into bed. Tomorrow it would be over. He would be going back to school where he could find himself another girl, lose himself in work, and just forget everything. Draco laughed to himself. What was he kidding? She would never let him forget. He sighed again and looked up at the ceiling. As he drifted off to sleep One thought went through Draco's head: I will always love you Nellie... and that's a promise.

A whistle blew and Harry and Ron rushed onto the platform, they were late... again. They quickly hugged Mrs. Weasley, exchanging "thank yous" and "goodbyes." then jumped onto the train just as it began to move.

Casting an eye down the crowded corridor, Harry muttered "let's go find Hermione." As they walked past groups of teenagers, Harry and Ron couldn't miss all the stares, points, and whispers that followed them. As they came up behind a group of fourth year Ravenclaws, Harry caught snippets of their conversation.

"They say he...Draco Malfoy's...of blood...razors...she's dead...". Trying to ignore them, Harry pushed past the group who fell silent when they noticed his presence. The Ravenclaws scattered as if death was on their heels to make room for Harry and Ron to get past.

Ron caught sight of Hermione, Neville, and Luna sitting in an empty compartment. He grabbed Harry's arm, roughly pulling him inside, and slammed the door shut.

Hermione looked over the top of her book, glancing at their faces. "So I'm guessing by those looks that you've noticed?" she asked. Ron nodded, followed a second later by Harry.

"And I'm guessing Malfoy isn't getting any of this?" Ron said, the amount of loathing in his voice could not be easily mistaken. Hermione's face turned grim as she shook her head.

"Not a bit if it. He's even looking snottier than usual. And of course all the girls in Slytherin are taking advantage of the new change of circumstances. They're all hanging off of him now that he's... available." she said the last word carefully, glancing at Harry's expression. He noticed her look and quickly looked away, hoping she could not read his feelings in his eyes. "I saw him on the platform and he didn't say anything nasty. I think a-after what's happened... maybe, maybe he's changed."

The door banged open and who should appear but Mr. Draco Malfoy himself. He looked around the compartment, sneering when his eyes fell on Luna and Longbottom.

"What do you want?" Harry said blatantly.

"Oh nothing. Just wanted to see how the Loony Toons Dream Team was doing after loosing one of it's... members." Draco said, smirking slightly. Ron jumped up angrily, ready to pummel Malfoy to a pulp. Harry, reading this reaction, pulled him back down and then rose slowly from his seat.

Emerald eyes narrowed as Harry said coldly, "We don't want to talk about that."

"Oh but we already are talking about it." Malfoy replied. "Or is your brain to undeveloped to carry out such a simple act since you were raised as an... animal?" His smirk got wider as Harry's face turned red. He had hit a real nerve in Potter. Harry's eyes narrowed as he took a threatening step towards Malfoy. Malfoy smirked even wider as he saw Potter rising to the bait.

"It's your fault." Harry accused. "all your filthy fucking fault. You just couldn't leave her alone could you? You will pay Malfoy. I hope you go to hell." Harry's voice shook with a cold vengeance. Malfoy's eyes turned cold with fury as he lost his casual demeanor. He stalked towards Harry, pushing him up against the corridor wall.

"My fault?" he hissed. "this was not my doing. You have no idea what happened, no idea what I've been through. I'd say it was YOUR fault. Or don't you remember your little..."secret"". He snarled. "and I've been living hell. You have no idea what it's like." With a final shove, slamming Harry against the wall, he stalked out, slamming the door behind him.

"Or not" Hermione concluded as they all looked after him in shock.

Draco walked back to his compartment, his blood rushing in anger. He got there, threw open the door, and tossed himself on an open seat. He sighed, _well that could have gone better_, he thought. He had just gone there to talk. They knew what had happened; he thought that they at least would understand. That they'd see he'd changed. HE thought he'd changed. And as for Potter...well, he could get back at him later. The way that they had looked at him was what drove him to it. They would never give him a chance. Never.

He buried his head in his arms. Why did Harry always make him feel like shit? It just wasn't fair. If precious Potter didn't think he'd changed, then he wouldn't. He would be cruel and icy. He would remain Slytherin's Prince and find a hot girl to go with him. He would hate all Gryffindors, hate Potter, and most of all he would never show his weakness.

"uh...Draco?" a voice said tentatively, cutting through his thoughts. "Are you alright?" Malfoy looked up into the face of Pansy Parkinson, who was looked worriedly down at him. Malfoy hadn't noticed the others in the compartment. They were all looking at him with concerned expressions.

He grinned. "I was just...thinking." he explained. Crabbe and Goyle grunted, signs that they understood. Pansy looked questioningly at him. Malfoy realized she wanted him to explain. "About how I'm actually gonna have to compete for Slytherin's Prince this year." he said with a grin.

"Competition from whom? Blaise?" Pansy said casually. The tension in the compartment disintegrated as they all started laughing at that idea.

Blaise pretended to be affronted. "It's not all that ridiculous you know!" he said, trying to sound mad.

"But first you'd have to find a girl," Queenie laughed. "and we all know that's not gonna happen!" she guffawed, grinning at Blaise. He tossed his shaggy hair back and grinned back sexily. This set them all off again. Now this was an interesting sight. If someone from another house had seen them would they have been shocked? Slytherin's laughing? Can't be possible.

The announcement came, they were there.


	3. Chapter 2: Silver Meets Gold

**Chapter 2- Silver Meets Gold**

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall they scanned the tables, waving at their friends and fellow housemates. They took their respectable seats by the other 7th years as McGonagall walked in, the new first years trailing behind her.

At the Slytherin table Draco looked up. _Oh,_ he thought, _it's just McGonagall bringing in the little twerps_. But then why were all of the guys heads turning, mouths gaping as the line went past? There at the end was the one who was attracting so much attention. She was tall, skinny, and absolutely stunning. And she definitely WAS NOT a first year. Even Malfoy gasped when he saw her. _That's the One. I have to get her, she would make me Slytherin Prince for sure_, he thought. He just hoped she'd be a Slytherin and not one of those good-for-nothing Gryffindors.

The sorting took way too long for Draco's preference. There was only one person he cared about. As she walked up to the stool and placed the sorting hat on her head Draco could only pray she'd be in Slytherin. She sat there, a small smile on her lips, as everyone watched her with baited breath. She tilted her head to one side as if listening to a small voice, and the smile was replaced by a smirk. She rolled her eyes at whatever she had heard and her smirk widened.

Malfoy nodded in satisfaction. With an attitude like that she could only be in-"Slytherin!" the hat shouted, and Draco grinned as the girl stalked over to their table. _Now for the bait_, he thought. And once she's tripped and fallen for it his life could return to normal as head of the Slytherins.

"Move over" he whispered to Pansy.

"Oh yeah." she drawled quietly," I should move so that bitch can come over here and claim your affections? Should I give her a welcome basket and flowers too?" she purred, wrapping her arm around his neck. Draco couldn't help but feel pride at this, he had taught her well, just as she had taught him. He raised his eyebrows and let a playful smile flit across his lips. Pansy rolled her eyes and smiled, "So much for that act." she said, sliding over to make room.

Draco had to hand it to her; she was really good at acting all in love with him even though he knew she wasn't. _She didn't like guys like him, or guys in general for that matter_, Draco thought. He turned to talk to her and let out an involuntary squawk. He quickly turned it into a cough and smiled sexily at the new girl. "So" he said casually "what's your name?" _OUCH!_ he thought, mentally wincing. _Why couldn't he be the complete sex god that came so naturally to him, along with the otherworldly good looks? Because_, he answered himself, _you NEED her to like you. You NEED to get back on top. And she's the key to do that._

She looked at him incredulously. "What's your name?" she snorted scathingly. "Myra Potter if you MUST know. And who do I have the, uh... pleasure of speaking to?" she looked at him raising her eyebrows, an inscrutable expression on her face.

"Draco Malfoy" he replied, running a hand through his silvery blond hair, "Slytherin team seeker, potions genius, and as of last year, Slytherin Prince."

"Slytherin...Prince?" she said questioningly, a trace of scorn in her voice.

Malfoy shrugged, "House hierarchy. There's a prince and princess who run the game. They are the best of the best, plus the power that goes with it." he said, watching her expression carefully.

"So, who's your princess?" she asked smirking, glancing towards Pansy who was arguing violently with Blaise.

"No one...yet" Draco said quickly. Watch yourself Malfoy! He thought, don't seem desperate, but not as if you aren't open. "As I said, I was Slytherin Prince as of LAST year. Ever since 4th year I haven't had to compete. I'll actually have to run again this year." he said shortly.

"hmmm...interesting. Well, goodbye Draco Malfoy. Perhaps I will see you later, perhaps I won't." And with that she stalked away and started talking with a group of Slytherin girls, presumably about sleeping arrangements.

Draco turned to see Pansy smirking widely at him. "What?" he said, exasperated. She snickered.

"You are hopeless! 'what is your name?' Even I could do better!" she cackled. Draco glared at her. She was spared a serious talking to by Dumbledore, who had just stood up; making quiet sweep around the hall.

"I welcome all of you students, new and old, to another wonderful year at Hogwarts. I would like to announce a few changes to Hogwarts, in Light of the dark times we live in. Some of these changes I believe many, if not all, of you have already noticed, like your luggage being searched as you entered the gates." At this Draco nodded. He had noticed, but luckily because of what happened this summer he for once had nothing to hide. Dumbledore started speaking again.

"you may have also noted the magical wards around the castle. As long as you have nothing to hide the barrier will let you pass in and out of Hogwarts. But be warned, these barriers will not be fooled by concealment cloaks, spells, or other such toys. Neither will the creatures behind the spells. As long as you are true to yourself, you will come to no harm. Now," Dumbledore said with the twinkle back in his eye and a smile on his mouth, "I would like to remind you all that Weasley Wizard Wheezes products are..."

Draco tuned Dumbledore out. He knew all of the standard rules and requirements, and now that he was prefect HE got to enforce those rules. He smirked slightly at the idea of all the things he could get Potter and his friends in trouble for. He looked up to see another figure stand at the staff table. He tuned back into whatever Dumbledore was saying.

"I am pleased to announce," Dumbledore was saying happily, "that we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. I hope that you will give a warm reception to Professor Todd!" There was a round of applause at his words as necks strained to see the new teacher clearly.

Professor Todd inclined his head to Dumbledore and the clapping students. He gave a smile to the students, which Draco thought looked like more of a grimace, and sat down. Malfoy watched the new man. He had a sense of familiarity to him, Draco just didn't know why. He shook his head of that thought and feeling to once again concentrate on Dumbledore's words. And what Dumbledore was announcing was causing quite a stir throughout the houses.

"There will be a inter-house unity movement." he was saying, "In this stressful time we must call upon our friendships, bonds, and unite together to defeat the enemy of the wizarding world. Therefore in order to spread this unity, the prefects of all the houses will have weekly meetings in order to create and work on house projects for the whole school. Furthermore, in relation to the projects there will be 4 parties or dances if you will, throughout the year. The themes of these dances will be decided by each house in turn. These parties and projects will be a way to form strong bonds between houses and to discard petty feuds so together we can defeat the evil coming this way."

There was silence as the students processed this strange announcement. There was a splattering if applause, which turned to cheers at the announcement of the parties. Draco raised an eyebrow at Pansy. Inter-House unity projects? Did the half-wit really think that those would work? And he and Pansy would have to go weekly meetings with those no good Gryffindors. Draco sighed, putting his head in his hands, thinking of all the extra interaction with Potter he'd have to endure. He had enough to worry about in his own house to be concerned with inter-house unity.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the announcement to go to the dorms. He didn't even notice the benches being pushed back as students rose to go to bed. He did, however, notice Pansy's punch to his arm, stomach, and the whack to his head. "ouch!"

He turned, scowling mightily at her. "What now?" he spat at her, turning on the much-practiced-on-Gryffindors death glare.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and returned the glare with ease. "Hhhhmmm...let me think...maybe something's missing?" she said in mock thoughtfulness. He looked around, wondering what she could possibly be talking about.

"Oh," he said, grinning sheepishly. "that. I guess there is." The Great Hall was over half-way empty. Some groups were staying to talk, opting to go to bed later, while others were fleeing the hall, ready for a good night's sleep in a comfy warm bed.

"So," Pansy continued, "Ready to go up...or rather, down?" Draco looked around, seeing if there were any other Slytherins around who would jeopardize his status. There were none. To his disappointment Myra also seemed to have already left. He looked down at Crabbe and Goyle, who were for once finished stuffing their faces.

"Come on you guys." he said, whacking them on their shoulders. "Time to get to the dungeons." They both lumbered to their feet. Pansy looked at Blaise, who had shown no sign of ever moving.

"You coming Blaise?" she asked, before scanning the rest of the hall. Draco smirked slightly as he followed her gaze to the Gryffindor table where Potter and his friends were still sitting talking.

"I guess not." Draco said, grinning widely at Blaise, who appeared not to notice.

"Good luck with that." Pansy told him, laughing jauntily as they stood to leave. Blaise waved them off, a slight smile on his lips. They exited the Great Hall and Draco looked back through the closing doors. This was going to be an interesting year.


	4. Chapter 3: Open Seats, Open Hearts

Chapter 3- Open seats, Open hearts

Harry was only half listening to the conversation the others were having about the unity projects. The other half of his mind was watching and thinking about Slytherins. To be specific, two Slytherins. He had seen Malfoy as he talked to Myra Potter. Had seen him run his fingers through his hair as he said something to her, a sexy leer on his mouth. Harry was happy to see her scoff at him, before she moved to talk to some other Slytherins. He couldn't help but feel pain at the way that Draco was acting toward her.

Harry started as Ron poked him on the arm. "W-what?" he asked, jerking up.

"Geez mate," Ron said smiling at him. "Where've you been? We asked if you knew anything about the new girl Myra Potter."

Harry shook his head. "Nothing. But why would I know anything more about her? I've never seen or heard of her in my life, same as you guys." Hermione rolled her eyes at this, her I-know-something-you-don't look in her eyes.

"Well Harry, in case you didn't notice her last name is POTTER. Doesn't that mean something to you?" Harry shook his head no, and opened his mouth to say something. "And no Harry it isn't a coincidence that she has the same last name as you." she interrupted him.

_Dang!_ He thought, _is she physic?_ "I've studied the family trees of all the pure-blood wizarding families, including yours up until your father and mother. Your father's Grandmother's sister moved to America. Myra came from America, and-"

"Wait!" Ron interrupted. Hermione shot him an angered look that he missed. "How do you know that?"

"Geez Ron! Were you listening to anything Dumbledore said?" Ginny scolded. Ron shook his head, looking sheepish.

"Well she is...so obviously she's somehow related to you, Harry. It's just bad luck she's in Slytherin." Hermione said kindly. Harry yawned; right now he wouldn't care if Snape was his cousin. He just wanted to go to sleep, it had been a trying day and he knew their first day of classes would be worse.

The others started on the topic of Slytherin, while Harry looked around the hall. It was basically empty, just a smattering of students at each table except for Slytherin. Harry squinted to see that there was only one person at that table, he sat alone. Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs. "Yah?" Ron said turning towards Harry.

Harry lowered his voice to a whisper so the others around them couldn't hear. "Look at the Slytherin table...and be discreet about it!" he added as Ron whirled around to openly glare at that table. Ron pulled himself back and looked sideways that the table.

"Who's that?" Ron whispered to Harry. He squinted trying to see the lone figure better.

"Blaise Zabini." Harry answered. "He's alone. Why do you think he's here?"

Ron thought for a moment before saying, "probably to spy on us for Malfoy, you know those two are friends. Or he's helping Malfoy to plot something sinister. Either way it's nothing to worry about right now." with that and a helpful pat on Harry's arm, Ron turned to Hermione to announce that the rest of the hall was basically empty and they should go to bed. As Ron was arguing with Hermione about Prefect protocol, Harry looked sidelong at the Slytherin table.

Deciding he must know what Zabini was up to, he looked directly at Zabini. He found Zabini looking straight at him, before he quickly looked away. Harry could have sworn he saw a slight smile on Zabini's lips and a pinkish tinge on his cheeks. _What's he playing at?_ Harry thought. He was saved from any unholy thoughts about Blaise Zabini (obviously due to lack of sleep...obviously) by Ron poking him...again.

Harry wrenched his eyes from the Slytherin to turn and look at Ron. "Don't worry about him." Ron muttered, shooting a look at the table. He got up and stretched, looking at his watch. "Well guys, seems to be time to go up. Who knows what classes we'll have to struggle through tomorrow." At Ron's words they all nodded and rose to their feet to leave.

As they exited the Hall Harry didn't notice the figure rise and follow them. Someone else did. They did not look back.

Back in the Slytherin boy's dorm room Crabbe stood watch over Draco's bed. The boy was writhing in his bed, his head twisting and turning, a steady flow of muttered words coming from his mouth. It was 4 in the morning.

Pansy rushed into the boy's dorm, Goyle following on her heels. "What happened? Goyle comes barging into my room at 4 in the morning claiming that something's happened to Draco. So what's wrong?" She said furiously, looking at the two.

"Well," Crabbe spoke up, "He woke us up about ten minutes ago, yelling and screaming like he was being tortured. Then we find him writhing in his bed like he's having a seizure. Just look at him." Pansy looked at him. She had seldom heard him say that much at once. He must really be worried.

She looked at the boy in bed_. Hmmmm..._she thought. "Looks like he's having a nightmare. Though I've never known him to have them before. I think we should try and wake him." She reached down and shook Draco gently by the shoulder. He did not wake, he kept on flailing around. _Like a beached whale_, she thought. She shook him harder, and then harder still. Finally, fed up with this taking so long, she smacked him on the shoulder and punched him in the ribs.

He woke up screaming, gasping for air. To his surprise there were people around his bed. He squinted and could just make out the hulking figures of Crabbe and Goyle. The third person had long hair, so he deducted it to be Pansy. "Wha- happened?" he asked groggily, "w-why ya all 'ere?" he blinked his eyes sleepily up at them.

Then he remembered. The Nightmare. Draco groaned, and the three looked at him in concern. "What was it Dray?" Pansy asked, "A nightmare?" Draco nodded his head, trying to remember what it had been about. But it was all leaving his head, like smoke through the air. All he could remember was there was blood...LOTS of blood. There were those blasted razors there as well. And then there was HER. There was always HER.

Draco looked around at the group gathering his bed, noting who was missing. "Did I wake you?" he asked, wondering how the other boys in the room could still be asleep if he did.

Goyle nodded while Crabbe grinned. "Well," he said, "with the yelling, muttering, and screaming...not to mention the flailing around, it was kinda hard not to wake up." Draco shook his head, scowling at Crabbe for making fun with him. Although he knew Crabbe was just being a good friend he still had to keep up his outward appearance.

Draco looked at the other beds whose curtains still were closed. "Then how come Nott, Winters, and Blaise are not huddled around my bed in concern for my well being?" he joked.

Pansy was the one with the answer. "Well we all know Winters could sleep through a hurricane, Nott really couldn't care...even if he was here, and Blaise began taking his potion again. So really anything you do can't wake those three." Draco nodded. Of course he knew Liam Winters was the best at sleeping. He was even better than Weasley, and that was saying something. And Nott not caring wasn't a surprise either; it was general knowledge that he hated Draco with an unrivaled passion.

Draco sighed and rolled over, looking at the clock. It was 4:30. "Get back to sleep you guys, sorry for waking you. It won't happen again." And with that he rolled onto his side and pulled the covers over his head.

Pansy rolled her eyes and Crabbe and Goyle exchanged looks. "Bloody pride." Pansy muttered as she turned to leave. "See you two at breakfast." she went to the door, "Oh and Goyle, make sure you knock next time." She turned on her heel and left the room, banging the door behind her.

Crabbe and Goyle nodded and lumbered over to their beds. There was a moment of silence. "So what did you see?" Crabbe asked to the darkness next to him.

Goyle groaned, "Oh shut it." But he smiled into his pillow, thankful for the darkness to cover his blush. The room lapsed into silence, soon interrupted by their identical snores. Even Draco slept on.

Harry found himself staring up at the red curtains above his head. It was a few minutes to seven, and no one else was up. Whereas every other boy in his dorm liked to get as much sleep as possible, Harry actually liked waking early. It was peaceful in the dawn, and it gave him time to think.

When his snitch-clock chirped 7 he decided to get up and get ready for the day. Of course that meant getting everyone else up so they wouldn't be late. Harry shook his head thoughtfully. How they could waste the beauty of the morning and be so difficult to get up was besides him. He just didn't get it.

The first to be woken up was Ron. Ron could easily sleep the day away if he was able to. But once he was up the others would quickly follow suit. He opened Ron's curtains, letting in the early morning light. He shook Ron lightly, then harder, then even harder still. Then he resorted to his final measures. He pushed Ron out of bed.

"Oi!" Ron yelled from his spot sprawled on the floor. "What'd you do that for!" Harry laughed at the sight of him. With rumpled hair, disheveled pajamas, and sleep still in his eyes it was impossible for him to sound mad, as hard as he tried. Not wanting to be the only one awake, Ron ran to all the other boy's beds, drawing back the curtains and unceremoniously kicking them each out of bed.

There were many surprised squawks, yells, grumbles, and a yelled "Ouch!" from Neville at this. Ron just smiled and went to his trunk to get his stuff. There was retaliation. From somewhere near Dean's bed there came a pillow, flying through the air at, what he hoped to be, Ron. It hit Harry squarely on the chest. Another Pillow came from Seamus's bed, whacking Neville in the head as he attempted to get back up. He went down again.

Soon the air was full of pillows, socks, and hats as a full-scale battle had begun. Harry, laughing, dodged a red knitted hat, ducked as a pillow flew over his head, scooped up his stuff, and ran to the door. He sidestepped a well-aimed pair of gloves, threw open the door, and threw himself through it. As he closed the door he heard a solid THUMP! as something hit it.

Smiling as he thought about how much he'd missed his friends over the summer, Harry made his way to the Prefect's bathroom. As he jogged through the doorway he smacked into someone. Well actually two someones. He saw the shock of bleach-blonde hair of the first someone, as well as a drawling voice in his ear whisper, "Watch where you're going Potter. There are other ways to touch me besides running me over you know."

Harry was slammed into the wall and he fell sideways. From his vantage point on the floor Harry could see the hair and voice belonged to Draco Malfoy (any surprise there?) and the other someone was Blaise Zabini. Now the second someone was advancing on Harry slowly, so he quickly scrambled to his feet.

Blaise stopped, raising one eyebrow at Harry. Then he smirked...and kept walking forewords. Harry cursed himself for not bringing his wand. He was just going to the showers, how was he supposed to know he'd run into Malfoy. Harry mentally punched himself for being so stupid. And now because of his stupidity it looked like he was going to get the crap beaten out of him. As Blaise put one hand against the wall on either side of Harry's face Harry's eyes widened. He wondered if there'd even be enough of him left to send to the Hospital Wing.

Then he had an entirely different thought altogether. _I wonder if anyone could smell as good as Blaise does, and if anyone could have as beautiful eyes. Harry! _He yelled at himself, _you're about to get beaten up and all you can think about is the color of his eyes?_ The other side of himself retorted, _But they're very pretty eyes!_ and was promptly slapped into silence.

As these thoughts were swirling around in Potter's head very similar in nature thoughts were going around in Blaise's. When Potter looked up at him Blaise's face was closer, his mouth hovering over Harry's ear, his eyebrows still raised mysteriously. He breathed over Potter's ear and Potter shivered. _Oh! _Blaise thought, _he liked that...hmmmm..._

"Blaise!" Draco hissed, "People are coming!" So Blaise did the only thing he could do.

He hissed, "This isn't over Potter!" punched him in the stomach, slapped him in the face, and kicked his shin. Then Blaise turned sexily (yes you can turn sexily...or at least Blaise can) and started after Draco.

Harry stood there, stunned. It was all going so well and then...that. He growled at himself, _this is why you never trust Slytherins...and by GOD HARRY! Stop thinking about how good he felt standing that close._ As Harry entered that bathtub he was beating himself up mentally.

As the hot water calmed him Harry actually felt a bit at ease. At least he didn't get beaten up. It could have been much much worse; he could be severely bruised and bleeding right now. Yes, Harry decided as he got dressed, today was going to be a good day. He'd already got past an encounter with Malfoy virtually unscathed and he couldn't wait for his new classes.

When he got back to the tower Harry found the others waiting for him in the common room ready for breakfast, so down they went.

Upon arrival in the Great Hall Harry scanned the Slytherin table, eyes settling on Blaise and Malfoy. They seemed to be arguing about something, but they were keeping their voices low so Harry could not catch any of what was being said. He scanned the rest of the table, noting Myra was not there yet.

Turning his back on the Slytherins Harry brought his attention to the table before him. He was rewarded a laugh at the pile of food on Ron's plate. Ron scowled up at him. "What?" he asked.

"Hungry, aren't you?" Harry replied, grinning at his best mate.

Ron grinned back. "Absolutely starved." he shot back, digging into the food on his plate. Laughing to himself Harry filled up his plate, much more modestly portioned than Ron's. He glanced up to see McGonagall handing out the schedules. As he got his, Harry heard Ron groan. He looked up questioningly.

"Potions this morning, followed by Transfiguration, then Divination this afternoon. And of course we finish with the creepy professor last, just bloody perfect." Ron groaned again, looking like he'd just been told he had to live with the giant squid.

His look got even more woeful as Hermione added, "And all but Transfiguration with the Slytherins. Oooohhhh! That'll be loads of fun with Trelawney." She gave them the look. "Now you'll wish you would have dropped that class for Arithmancy."

Harry looked at his schedule trying to think of what was worse: Divination with the Slytherins or Arithmancy with Hermione. It was a close battle. He was so engrossed in said mental battle that he didn't notice the worried looks and whispers one Slytherin was giving him.

"I hurt him." Blaise wailed, "I hurt him. Why'd I hurt him? Oh he's gonna hate me forever!" Blaise looked like he was going to cry, so Draco quickly intervened.

"He is not going to hate you forever Blaise. And you hurt him because you had to. If someone would have seen you snogging Potter..." Draco said, trying to sound comforting and strict at the same time. It did not work.

"But I didn't have to HURT him. He hates me. It's done, over! He hates me!" Blaise continued to wail, shooting worried looks at Potter.

"He looks perfectly fine to me." Draco remarked. Just then the door to the Great Hall opened. "Quick!" he hissed at Blaise. "It's her, move over and quickly!"

But instead of moving over Blaise just uttered a strangled, "He hates me!" and buried his head in his arms. With no other option Draco turned to his other side.

"Could you?" he asked sweetly, motioning scooting over.

Pansy purred and said silkily, "Oh anything for you Drakey Darlin'." Draco winced at the nickname and glared at her.

"Don't you ever call me that...again!" he snarled at her, glaring daggers. Realization dawned on her slip of tongue. She paled and her face turned grave. As She quickly moved over she mouthed "I'm sorry". Draco nodded back at her in forgiveness as a girl slid into the seat shed just vacated.

"So," Myra said to him, "We meet again Draco Malfoy."

Draco nodded, "Indeed we do. So, what do you think of the dorms thus far? Are they to your liking?" he asked smoothly. He wanted to hurry this conversation along. He could see McGonagall approaching with the schedules.

"Well," Myra was saying as she tossed he hair over her shoulder, "The common room is quite nice, as well as the dorm rooms...but I don't really think the other girls like me." She said with a smirk. "Not that I care."

"Yeah, well they're just jealous. You are a Potter after all." Draco said with a gleam in his eye. Kissing up to girls almost always worked.

At the mention of Potter Blaise groaned and buried his head back in his arms. Draco could have sworn he heard a muffled "He hates me!", but he couldn't be sure. Myra turned to look around Draco at Blaise.

"What's the matter with him?" she asked Draco, nodding her head at the still moping Blaise.

"Love problems." Draco replied with a snigger, "anyways wh-" he started to say, but was interrupted by McGonagall coming down the table with their schedules. When Myra got her schedule he looked over her arm at it. To his surprise she was in none of his classes besides divination. "Why aren't you in any of my classes? Normally all Slytherins are together." He asked her, hoping there was a mistake with her schedule.

"We don't have the same classes as you do in the States." she replied smoothly, "I'm a bit behind, so I have to take all the standard classes with the younger students." she gave a disgusted look at this prospect. Draco laughed. Well this was a major unforeseen roadblock in his plan of seduction. _Well_, he thought, _you'll just have to make each moment count with her. And hope her hotness will cancel out her lack of knowledge, or else she won't be fit to be Princess_, a little voice in the back of his head reminded him. He pushed the voice back with a snarl.

Around them the great hall was emptying. Myra got up and gathered her stuff. "Well Draco," she turned to him, "see ya around." and with that she exited the great hall. Draco looked after her and mimicked Blaise, burying his hands violently in his hands. Pansy smacked him hard on the shoulder, causing him to raise his head up and shoot her a glare.

"No weakness." she whispered to him. "See Nott, he's watching you. He wants Myra as well and he'll do anything to get her. And I mean anything." Draco snorted at her words and turned to put his head back down. Panay caught his shoulder and wrenched him around to face her. "Do not underestimate Nott, Draco. He's been second in command to you for three years. He's been harboring resentment and revenge. And now he has his chance. Watch him Draco and eradicate him. We must survive." she hissed at him, watching his face intently.

He nodded. "And to survive we must get to class on time." he agreed. He got up and pulled on Blaise's elbow. "Come on Blaise! We've got to get to class." Blaise shook his head. Draco rolled his eyes at Pansy and played a winning card. "Potter's going to be in potions."

Draco spotted Potter and his friends leaving their table. "And he's leaving right now! If we follow we'll have enough time to make a scene, and THEN you can talk to Potter yourself." Draco whispered, grinning when Blaise poked his head up looking hopeful. The grin quickly morphed into a sneer when he saw Nott staring at him.

"You think?" Blaise said to him hopefully, beginning to get up.

"Yeah." Draco said, "Now hurry or we'll lose him!" So Blaise raced out the doors, with Pansy and Draco arm-in-arm strolling behind.

Ron groaned when they got to the dungeons and he saw the trio behind them. Between the Slytherins, Snape, and potions Ron was not happy. Harry just hoped that Snape would get there quickly before something like the scene that morning could occur.

During the walk to the dungeons Draco had been going over a plan in his head. There had to be some way that he could distract and humiliate Weasel and the Mudblood so that Blaise could have a moment with Potter. _And why are you helping them get together?_ He asked himself. _Uuummmm...because Blaise is a major ally and you need him in order to regain your status?_ He quickly, if not entirely truthfully, answered himself.

As they approached the potions room Malfoy heard Ron groan_. Oh good_, he thought, _the weasel's already scared_. It should be easy enough to provoke a fight. When passing by the weasel Draco made sure to collide shoulders with him, knocking Ron's books out of his hands. Draco knew it was a novice move, but it got him the reaction he needed.

"Why don't you watch where you're going Weasel." Malfoy drawled, sneering at Ron. Ron's face turned red as he made a move to get at Malfoy. Malfoy snickered at his feeble attempts as Granger pulled Ron back. It was so easy to make Weasley angry, and Draco took great pleasure in it. It would be harder to get to Granger, but Malfoy had to try.

He leered at Granger, "Why don't you ditch scar-head and the half-wit and come join the big boys?" He said casually, leaning sexily (he hoped) against the wall. Hermione opened her mouth to reply scornfully when Draco made his move, making sure to time his movements perfectly.

He closed the gap between him and Granger in two strides and put a finger against her lips, silencing her. _EEEEEWWWWW!_ he thought, _I'm touching a MUDBLOOD!_ he'd make sure to thoroughly wash that finger later. He leaned over her and whispered in her ear, "You needn't say anything, why don't you show me?" he knew he'd done the right thing when he felt himself being grabbed and thrown against the wall.

As Ron was pummeling Draco and Hermione was trying to drag him off, Blaise had managed to situate himself so he stood next to Potter. He leaned closer and breathed lightly over Harry's ear. To his joy, the breath was rewarded with a small shiver coursing down Harry's body. Harry looked up into Blaise's eyes. They really are pretty eyes, Harry thought, before mentally whacking himself. He really needed to stop this, his head was getting sore.

Blaise leaned closer and Harry began to wonder if he was really all that bad of a guy. Luckily he was spared the completion of that thought by a sudden turn of events in the scene going on before them. Crabbe and Goyle had arrived. It looked like Crabbe had punched Ron in the nose, which was now bleeding heavily. Crabbe and Goyle pulled Draco to his feet and resumed the look that nothing had happened.

To Harry's despair it was then that Snape decided to come strolling down the hallway, robes billowing dangerously. (and yes robes can billow dangerously if worn by the right people) He took in the scene and asked the unavoidable question, "What the devil is going on here?"

Harry knew what would happen next. Ron would say it was Malfoy's and Crabbe's fault, they would deny it and blame Ron, Snape would take house points, and Ron would end up with at least a detention, if not more, for fighting. Then Harry had an idea. He looked at Blaise next to him, looked across the hall at Malfoy, and then made eye contact with Ron.

"Please sir," Harry said to Snape, "It was an accident. Ron tripped and hit the wall head first. I think his nose might be broken." Snape raised an eyebrow at Harry and turned to look Ron over. Ron was gaping at Harry. Was this betrayal? Harry shook his head slightly, hoping that Ron would understand. But Ron was too slow.

"That's not what happened at all!" Ron basically shouted at Snape. "Crabbe punched me in the face and slammed me against the wall!" He looked furious.

Harry spoke up, he only had one more chance to save Ron from impending doom. "Professor, his collision with the wall must have addled his brain. He's not remembering correctly, he should go to the hospital wing." Harry silently prayed that Ron would keep his mouth shut. Snape looked doubtful, but nodded his head nonetheless.

"If your head is that addled then you should go to the hospital wing. I don't expect you to be in class." Ron left, giving Harry a wondering glance as he did. "I'll explain later," he mouthed at Ron. Ron nodded and hurried down the corridor before Snape could change his mind.

Snape glared at the rest of the students lined up outside the classroom. "All of you get inside! We have wasted enough time already. You all must stay after if you do not finish in time." He pointed through the doors, "Now get inside to the seats you had last year. And no dawdling!" with that Snape swept into the classroom, the students hurrying in behind him.

In the rush to get inside Draco caught up to Blaise and gave him a quizzical eyebrow raise. Blaise shook his head, looking forlorn. The students filled into their seats. Draco took his seat two rows down at the very left hand side of the room. There was one cauldron with two chairs. In the name of unity they were working with partners.

Pansy and Blaise took their spots next to each other in the table in front of him, while Liam and Knott did the same behind him. Crabbe and Goyle were in the next row over, last row down.

Across the room Harry was taking his seat next to Hermione. Ron usually sat in front of them with Seamus, and Dean and Neville in front of them. Harry watched as Snape strode to the front of the room and twirled his wand at the chalkboard. That days lesson appeared.

"Novus reproba falsus vita. New life. This is a simple potion that holds great power. It does not create true life, it only gives the illusion of life." Snape looked out of them, making sure everyone was paying rapt attention to what he was saying.

"There is also another affect of this potion besides the illusion of life. Can any of you tell me what it is that makes this potion so powerful?" To no one's surprise Hermione's hand went up first, followed shortly by Draco's. Snape's lip curled as he called on Granger.

"It is also a love potion sir. It gives the illusion of love and beauty to one individual." Malfoy smirked as he heard her answer. For once Granger was wrong.

"That is true Granger, if only partially correct. Who can tell me what Granger said that was incorrect, and correctly state it's property?" Draco's hand went up and he smiled. "Draco?" Snape called on him.

Malfoy took a deep breath. "Whereas love potions cause the illusion of love, obsession, or infatuation, Novus reproba falsus vita only reflects love that was already there, strengthening it and making it visible." he said with a smirk at Hermione.

Snape nodded, "Exactly." he twirled his wand again and a list of ingredients appeared. "You will find everything in the cupboard, those of you without partners must continue alone, you have an hour and thirty minutes starting now." He sat down at his desk as a flurry of activity started up.

Draco carefully got out his ingredients and started chopping the radishes. Unlike most potions, the majority of the ingredients in this potion could be found in any kitchen. It was a few of the rare ingredients that made it truly spectacular.

Malfoy's mind wandered as he cut up ingredients and added them to his potion. He looked over at Harry and Hermione who were talking intently. Wishing he could listen in, Malfoy turned back to his own potion. The next part of this was the trickiest. You had to be especially delicate with the ingredients or else the whole mixture would be useless.

Malfoy carefully dropped in two mermaids tears, stirred twice clockwise. It turned clear, just as it was supposed to. Now he set his timer to wait twenty minutes. He looked up to watch Pansy and Blaise. Pansy was doing most of the work while Blaise was sitting looking morosely at Potter. He really is a hopeless Slytherin, Draco thought, laughing softly. It was lucky for him his family had such high standing in the wizarding world.

He turned around to watch Knott and Liam, who seemed to be having quite a lot of difficulty. Their cauldron was sparking and boiling, purple steam pouring out of it. Knott seemed to be yelling profusely at Liam, who was shaking under the assault, apologizing for whatever he had done.

Draco jumped as his timer rang. Quickly, he put in two pinched of fairy dust. The potion fizzed and turned a clear, bright blue. Draco smiled, perfect as usual. Now came the two hardest stepped: the flying horse feathers and the liquid silver.

Draco looked around at the other students. None of them seemed as far along as he was. Even Granger and Potter seemed to be having trouble. Their cauldron was smoking slightly and Hermione was muttering to herself as Harry looked dejected.

Harry was having trouble focusing. All he could think about was the Slytherin who sat only a few seats away. He looked up at the boy to see him slip his arm around Pansy's waste. _Pointless_, Harry thought, absolutely _pointless. He's playing with your mind, wanting you to look like an idiot. Watch your back Harry_, he told himself sternly, _don't believe a word he says or anything he does._

Looking at the ingredients, Harry put in the mermaid tears. Unfortunately Hermione's back was turned. She spun around and caught his wrist, but not until two drops had already spilled out.

"OH HARRY! I already added those!" she wailed as their concoction began to boil and smoke slightly.

"uh oh..." Harry whispered as Hermione tried to put things right, muttering all the while. He looked up to see Blaise whisper in Pansy's ear, making her blush, and put his hand on her arm.

Blaise had seen Hermione take Harry's wrist and a surge of jealousy washed over him. She was holding on way to long, that wrist should belong to him, that wrist will belong to him. _Whoa Blaise_, he thought to himself_, don't go all protective on me. It's just an infatuation, yeah, just an infatuation. You'll get over this, you'll get over this, you'll get over this_. As if to prove himself that fact, Blaise put his hand on Pansy's arm. She looked at him funnily, eyebrows raised.

"Jealousy is the key to success." he whispered in her ear, glancing over her head to look at Potter. Potter was staring at them. _Good_, Blaise thought, _let him see. It's merrily an interest, nothing more._

After witnessing this exchange, Draco smirked to himself as he got out the feathers and carefully dropped two in. They sizzled as they hit the liquid and quickly dissolved, turning the liquid a light green. Draco always loved this part. This was when the real magic happened, and when it's final property was truly shown, for just an instant.

Draco unstoppered the vial of liquid silver. He was tipping it foreword when he heard a whisper behind him. It was Knott.

"Bet you're happy SHE isn't here 'eh Draco." Draco stiffened, making Knott laugh softly. "Yeah I know about her. I wonder what she'd do to you if she saw you and Myra. Maybe she'd leave you. I'd love to get my hands on her and that body. She was a fit little bitch wasn't she Draco? Course you wouldn't know would you?" Draco saw red and was ready to kill Knott when Snape interrupted his thoughts on how to murder him without getting too much blood on his robes.

"Add you final ingredients and bring a vial of it to the front." Snape said. Draco sighed, all the anger draining from him as he dropped in four pearl drops of silver. There was a white flash of light, golden smoke formed hearts in mid-air, and the potion turned a pale silver, absolutely perfect.

Draco looked back at Knott and smiled, Knott's look was murderous. His potion had shattered the glass vial when they had put it in. Draco dipped the vial in, careful not to touch any of the silver liquid.

Harry looked down at their watery, light gray potion. He'd seen the bright flash of light and the golden smoke where Draco was. Of course that prick had to get it perfect. It was all the Slytherin's fault that he had ruined their potion.

Harry looked up from his fuming to see Malfoy heading his way. Malfoy was two feet away when it happened. Malfoy tripped. His potion went sloshing out of the vial and...all over Harry's robes.

To Harry's amazement, golden roses started sprouting all over the spot where the potion had landed. Along with it were tendrils of golden smoke. The smoke traveled across the room, to the person it was destined for. Two pairs of eyes followed the smoke. Only one knew the true meaning of it.


	5. Chapter 4: Deep Dark Pools

Much thanks to Proudmudblood42

Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)

P.S. This is quite a long chapter...or at least longer than any of the ones before it...ENJOY!

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><p><strong>Chapter 4- Deep Dark Pools<strong>

After the incident in potions Harry and Hermione had made sure to quickly leave when the bell rang. There had been no harm done, and to Harry's disappointment the flowers faded away by the end of Transfiguration.

Today they were lectured by McGonagall about NEWTS and how "Transfiguration is a skill much needed in life" and how they "need to work hard in order to obtain the highest achievement" because yet again "Granger was the only one able to change their kitten into a pair of mittens". It was tedious and boring, and Harry was relieved when it was over and time for lunch.

Ron still hadn't returned from the Hospital Wing (probably milking his injury for all he was worth, in Hermione's opinion) so Harry and Hermione ate with Neville, Ginny, Seamus, and Dean. Harry was just finishing with his Shepherds Pie, when the Weasley twins appeared (yes they are still at school even though time wise that is impossible).

"Hey Harry, Hermione, where's that brother of ours?" George asked, sliding into the seat across from Harry.

"Hospital Wing, got hit by Crabbe. Probably broke his nose." Hermione answered.

"Oh no. The poor dear" Fred said sarcastically. "Well you'll never guess what just happened to us." he said excitedly.

"Yeah!" George agreed. "We just had Defense Against The Dark Arts with the new professor. Man is he weird!"

"Yeah! I mean his classroom is the creepiest place I've ever seen. In one corner there's this big freaky looking chair, and there're all these tools around it." Fred explained, gesturing the creepiness of it.

"And there're all these dark artifacts in there too. He's really scary as well. He has this really pale skin"

"And these dark, sunken eyes"

"And his hair looks like a skunk landed on his head"

"And his clothes are all shabby"

"And dirty"

"And dark"

"Not to mention old"

"Practically Victorian in style"

"And he kept on going on about hexes and curses and poisons and..."

"Hey George, don't give it all away, they have him this afternoon."

"Just hope you can understand him, his accent's really freaky. Well we'd better be off to cause more mayhem... See yah...and beware..." George said as they got up and left. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and gulped. This could not be good.

Harry was climbing up the silver staircase to the Divination tower and there was still no sign of Ron anywhere. He got to the top and poked his head out into the now familiar room. As usual the lights were dimmed and the smell of incense permeated throughout. The pink poufs were still lying on the floor, but instead of desks there were small tables with a pair of chairs at each.

_Must be partner work_, Harry thought, _and of course we have to start on the day Ron's gone, just brilliant_. Harry quietly slipped to the back of the room, found a chair in the darkness of a corner, and tried to look like he wasn't there. Unfortunately Harry was not a very good at skulking about unnoticed.

Across the room, sitting on some poufs with Malfoy, Myra, Goyle, and Pansy, someone (guess who!) looked up as Harry entered the room, his Potter senses tingling.

"Draco, Potter's here!" Blaise said excitedly, grinning, before he remembered it was only an infatuation. (ONLY an infatuation!). He quickly regained his composure and grunted, "Hey Draco, Potter's here." he said bitterly, glaring at the corner in which Harry sat.

"Hhhhmmmm, yes that's nice." Draco said with a smirk before turning to continue his conversation with Myra. Pansy rolled his eyes at him, giving him her what-a-prat look, and turned to Blaise.

"I didn't see him come in, where is he?" Pansy asked Blaise, scanning the room for Potter.

"In that corner." Blaise answered, cocking his head in Harry's direction. Pansy looked intently into the corner. She could see the outline of a person in the shadows, but couldn't for the life of her tell it was Potter.

"How d'you know? I can't tell who it is." Pansy asked him.

Blaise shrugged. "I could feel when he came in. I just knew he was there. Why? Is that weird?" Blaise answered, feeling perplexed.

"No." Pansy quickly replied, "Of course it's not weird Blaise dear. Hey Goyle, where's Crabbe?" Pansy quickly changed the subject. Goyle jumped and blushed, looking down at his hands.

He looked up at Pansy, "Oh...ummm...he dropped this class. His parents wanted him to take a higher level class. He's in Arithmancy now." Pansy snorted scathingly, hardly going to believe that CRABBE would take Arithmancy. "Hey," Goyle said to her, "You know he's smarter then he looks, AND he needs to obey his parents' wishes if he wants to...you know." he faltered, glancing at Myra. Pansy nodded, understanding. It was best if that detail was not overheard.

During their discussion Trelawney had emerged from her armchair by the fire and was now standing in front of the class. "I am so glad that so many of you decided to take NEWT Divination. It's good to see that so many of our students show interest in the art of Divination." Harry, still in the shadows, snorted softly at this. He knew for a fact that almost all of his classmates only took this class because it was bound to be easy.

"In the name of school unity," she was saying, "and because the higher levels of divination do not only involve the individual, you will be working with partners. Now since these new strands of divinations build upon each other, your partners today will be your partners for the rest of the year." she said loftily. Harry swore silently, and there were resounding groans throughout the room.

"Now, now." Trelawney said breezily, smiling out at them, "because it is essential to these strands of divination that you work well with your partners, I will let you pair up on your own." she smiled as there were cries of joy. "Today you will be reading tarot cards. You will do one set of the present, past, and future, and a second set of whatever you choose. Then you will be doing face and features readings. You will find everything from pg. 50-78 in your books. Feel free to ask me for help. You may pair up and begin when ready."

There was a scramble of movement as students got partners, grabbed cards, and found an empty table. Harry looked around for someone without a partner. He moved towards Neville, until he partnered up with Luna. Soon, to Harry's despair, all of the Gryffindors already had partners.

Across the room a group of Slytherins were having their own problems. Malfoy, of course, was already paired up with Myra. That left Blaise, Pansy, and Crabbe to sort out who would be partnered and who would be left alone.

Crabbe was pleading with Pansy to "Oh pretty please be his partner". Pansy was putting up quite a fight, saying that she "WOULD NOT work with someone who couldn't tell the difference between the past and the future". At this Crabbe looked hurt and looked sadly down at his feet.

Then his face hardened with resolve. He looked Pansy in the eye and stepped smoothly towards her. Malfoy watched this spectacle with interest. What was going on between those two now? he wondered. Crabbe whispered, "I'll do anything you want if you be my partner. Please?"

Pansy looked at him and a small smile flitted briefly on her lips. "Anything?" she asked silkily. Crabbe nodded, trying to leer sexily at her. It was a pitiful attempt, but it did the job. Pansy blushed slightly, and nodded. "Fine then." She said brutishly, standing up to go find a table. Crabbe followed her, pink in the cheeks.

"Dang it!" Blaise complained, "Now I don't have a partner!" He glared at Draco, who was still talking to Myra. Since Draco didn't notice, Blaise decided to show his displeasure. He hit Draco on the arm and poked him in the stomach, still glaring. Draco whirled around, shocked. Blaise had never hit him before.

"What'd you do that for?" Draco growled, staring accusingly at Blaise. Blaise just stared back, glaring angrily at him.

"Thanks to you I have no partner!" Blaise told him, shooting a dirty look at Myra. Draco looked around, there had to be at least one person in this room to be Blaise's partner.

Blaise was doing the same thing, scanning the room for potential partners. To his despair it seemed that everyone already had paired up. Then he found someone. His wicked grin was terrifying.

Harry now found himself partner-less and out of the shadows that had kept him so well concealed (or so he thought). To his disappointment, his appearance did not bring upon him a bunch of hopeful classmates, clamoring to work with Boy-Who-Lived. He found his eyes wandering over to the group of Slytherins he had noticed upon arrival to the room. He gulped as he noted that there were five of them. An odd number. One would be left.

He felt his stomach drop to the floor as he watched Pansy and Crabbe go to a table. He prayed to whatever God there was that Blaise and Malfoy would be working together and he'd just get stuck with Myra. _Blaise?_ He asked himself. _Since when have you been calling Slytherins by their first names, and especially THAT Slytherin?_ Harry ignored the question as a bolt of energy shot through his stomach.

Blaise was looking at him. His grin made Harry want to either melt into the boy, or run away screaming, he couldn't decide. Either way, it was terrifying.

With a nod and shooing motion from Draco, Blaise moved slowly towards Potter, relishing the reaction he was having on the boy. Potter's mouth was slightly open, his cheeks tinged pink (from the heat of the room no doubt), shifting awkwardly as Zabini approached him.

Blaise, of course, was a much better disguiser of his emotions. What Potter saw was a look of cold contempt, and a half-smile that relished at Harry's pain and troubles.

As Blaise slid smoothly next to Harry he hissed, "Potter" over his right ear. Harry shivered yet again at this and Blaise smirked. He knew one of Potters weaknesses. Harry looked up into Blaise's eyes, a dazed look on his face.

"Zabini" he said softly, moving a bit closer to Blaise. Blaise's heart leapt at his movement. Then it plummeted as Potter seemed to come to his senses. He hurriedly moved away and mumbled, "We'd better get started." Harry hurried to the front of the room, grabbed some cards, and plopped down into the seat across the table from the one Blaise had just dropped into.

He looked at the two decks of cards he had grabbed. Luckily one was the "Past, Present, Future" deck. He put that one aside for later and looked at the second one he had chosen at random. His jaw dropped in shock and he banged his head against the table. Why do these things always happen to him?

Blaise looked at the deck Harry was gaping at. He smirked at Harry as his insides did a dance, whether twisting with nerves or leaping for joy he could not tell. "Nice choice Potter." he leered at Harry. "Subtlety was never your strong suit." He raised an eyebrow and smirked at Harry's perplexed look.

"Uh" Harry cleared his throat, looking down at his hands, "let's just start this." he said, picking up the Past, Present, Future deck and shuffling them.

Blaise leered, "Couldn't have said it better myself." He said silkily. Harry colored slightly, and continued sorting out the cards. When he was done, Harry set them in three stacks.

"Choose your fate." Harry told Blaise, leaning back lazily on his chair. Blaise chose five cards from each pile and laid them in a cross shape. One for present, one for past, and one for the future. Harry started with the past, flipping over the card in the middle. "The rising sun." He checked his textbook. "A symbol of courage in the face of hardships. In the past, could be a pampered childhood with unwanted expectations."

Harry flipped over the center card in the present set. "The crossed swords." he flipped through a few pages, "Conflict. Could be physical, mental, or emotional and is normally accompanied by denial." Harry smirked at this (yeah yeah I know, Harry Potter does not normally smirk. But for the purpose of this story he does). He wondered what Blaise (_Zabini!_ He scolded himself) was so conflicted about.

He flipped over the final card—the future. "The dragon's eye." slowly he found the page. "A dragon's eye in the future is a sign of a great destiny. These people normally have conflicted paths to choose from. Whether or not they fulfill their destiny depends on the path chosen. It could either end in a great triumph, or utter failure and painful death." Harry looked up at Blaise, gaping in shock. THIS boy having a great destiny? Can't be possible. "No pressure." Harry said snidely, determined to get Zabini back for earlier. Blaise just glared at him coolly.

"Let's see if your fates any better, Potter. At least I HAVE a future." He smirked as Harry looked like he had been physically hit. Blaise shuffled the cards and sorted them out. "Choose YOUR fate, Potter." he spat. Harry chose his cards. Blaise sneered as he flipped over the first card. "The crooked cross." he searched through the pages, then smirked when he found it. "Hardship in life, abandonment, and possible death of loved ones. Hmmmm, Potter, wonder what that could mean?" his smirk grew as Harry's face turned red, in anger this time.

"Just get on with it!" Harry growled, glaring daggers at Zabini. Blaise just smiled smugly, he loved being able to push Potter to the edge, and flipped over the second card.

"The silver chalice." he flipped through the pages until he found it and read, "Already having a great destiny. Hmmmmmm, this is interesting. Could have physical, mental, and emotional conflict that goes against the chosen path. Looks like we both don't know what to do Potter." Blaise flipped over the last and final card. "The sun and the moon." He found the page and sneered, "Looks like you have a future after all." He said snidely. "Challenges await you...hmmmm...there seems to be different meanings based on what your Present card is." he scanned the next few pages then read out Harry's fate.

"Those with the silver chalice, and therefore a great destiny, will find major challenges in their future. From the paths that they may choose they must confront their deepest fears and darkest wishes, for they have the power to either save the world or destroy it." Blaise raised an eyebrow and smirked, repeating Harry's words from earlier, "So no pressure Potter." He looked back at the book. "Hmmmmm, there's a warning. Be warned, those with a path will find pain and suffering along the way. Welcome your fear and befriend your enemies. Only then can you truly fulfill your destiny. Well that's weird...befriend your enemies. How does that sound Potter?" Blaise asked slyly, making Harry narrow his eyes at him.

"Just shuffle the cards Zabini and let's get this over with." Harry replied, still glaring daggers at Blaise.

Blaise grinned at him as he shuffled the new deck of cards. "No need to sound so aggravated Potter, I was merrily making conversation. But, if you want to take it like that Potter..." he said suggestively, putting his hand on the table, making sure their skin brushed. Harry flinched; the contact had made a tingling sensation go up his arm.

"Keep your bloody hands off me." Harry snarled at Blaise, sending him a death glare. Now a Malfoy giving a death glare is scary beyond belief, but a Gryffindor, especially the Boy-Who-Lived, the epitome of goodness, giving a death glare is sadly not in the least bit frightening. Blaise rolled his eyes and continued sorting out the cards.

"You first, Potter. Time to see what your pathetic love life is like." Blaise leered, because of course Harry, being Harry, had to pick up the one deck to make things overly awkward, and give Blaise his best shot at getting Harry in his bed. You guessed it; he chose the Relationship deck.

Now maybe life just hated him, and maybe the world was out to utterly destroy his life, but by the look in Blaise's eyes Harry knew thing were about to get much, much worse.

Taking a deep breath, Harry flipped over the first card. The Weeping Willow. Blaise smirked, "A sign of unwanted love. In most cases a life without love, or a torn apart relationship." Blaise looked up, eyes gleaming. "You went out with the Chang girl for a while last year, right Potter? How did that go? Was it... torn apart?" He grinned evilly as Harry's face turned red. "And those muggle relatives you lived with. How were they? I heard that they were terrible, unloving, they called you a freak. But of course you never knew love did you Potter? Your parents died before they could truly love y-"

"SHUT UP!" Blaise was cut off by Harry grabbing his arm, digging his nails painfully into Blaise's skin. They would surely leave marks. "Just shut up!" Harry hissed. "At least my parents weren't traitorous scum, kissing Voldemort's boots while murdering innocent children."

Blaise stiffened at this. "You're wrong." he said quietly, "But believe what you like, see if I care." Blaise obviously did care, but he made sure to show that same cool contempt. But why was he being so mean when he wanted this boy before him to like him? One easy answer. Blaise was a Slytherin. He just had to. He took pride in getting a reaction from Harry, knowing that he couldn't keep up his cool reserve when Blaise spoke, knowing that he could make Potter shiver with just a breath. "Just turn over the fucking card already." He said in contempt.

Harry complied, showing his present emotional and lustful state. The Double Edged Sword. "Denial, betrayal, and deceit in the face of unbounded lust. Your heart and your mind are on two paths, and you are at a loss as to which you should follow. Tut, tut Potter, looks like you really aren't that good at relationships. So who's the lucky girl you're so conflicted about? Ooohhh, is it Granger? Or are you not one for her type?" Blaise asked. Of course he meant girls, but Harry could take it as he will.

"Just stop with the blasted comments Zabini." Harry stated coolly before flipping over the last card. They both looked at it and gasped.

Now we shall leave those two gaping over that card, for at another table two Slytherins had chosen the same deck. We shall skip over their Past, Present, Future fortunes for as Myra so gallantly put it, "Who believes any of this shit anyways?". Of course seeing as she got the Poisoned Goblet (torture, betrayal, painful death, and doom) as her future card, you can see why she would think that.

Currently Draco was sorting out the Relationship cards as Myra paged through their book. When he was done, Myra flipped over the first card. "The Three-pronged Pitchfork. Much deceit, betrayal, and mistrust in your past relationships." Draco pondered this. _Well,_ he thought, _she is a Slytherin after all._

She flipped over the next card. "The Black Mask. You are guarded in your relationship and hide behind lies. Your relationship, and therefore emotions, are based on lies and smokescreens, causing great pain and hidden secrets." Draco gulped. She wasn't the only one with lies and masks. _Hopefully she'll think it's all about her and not about you. I mean you aren't even in a relationship...yet. Right?_ Draco tried to reassure himself as she flipped the last card.

"The Devil's Advocate." he gulped, this did not sound too pleasant, and as he read he realized that he was right. "You have a failed love life scattered with chaos, pain, betrayal, and loss."

Draco looked up at her. _This could not be good,_ he thought, _maybe this seducing her is a bad idea._ Then he mentally scolded himself, _Draco Malfoy! You are not going to back down just because of what some stupid old cards said are you? No!_ He told the voice, _Myra's right, this stuff is just nonsense._

Draco cleared his throat, "Guess it's my turn." he said. Myra just nodded and shuffled the cards. When all was ready Draco flipped over the first card.

"The Silver Dove." Myra said, "A symbol of true love, hope, and good things to come. However, all that good may fall away if the wrong choices are made." Myra looked at him, "Wow, they always have to put something doomful in each card don't they?"

Draco laughed mockingly at her. "Doomful?" he drawled, raising his eyebrows in scorn.

"Oh shut it! Pick up the next card already!" she laughed at him. Draco couldn't help but laugh softly at her as he picked up the next card. "The Silver Dagger." Draco winced, but Myra didn't notice and kept on reading. "Many mistakes have been made and many will be made in the future. With the right choices good will come into your life and happiness will prevail. But beware, during this time the past will come back to haunt you, do not deny it."

_Hmmmmm,_ Draco thought, _that sounds oddly foreboding. The past will come to haunt you; well they were right about that at least. Blasted Cards._

"Draw your card already Draco!" Myra said impatiently jerking him out of his thoughts. "I want to see what your future love life will be!" She grinned at him as he reached his hand out. The Bleeding Rose. Draco gulped and closed his eyes, preparing himself for what was to come. "A symbol of tragedy and lose, combined with beauty and love. And so your fate will be. A challenge and great struggle awaits you. Do not lose hope, the reword is well worth it." she looked at Draco, "Well that makes no sense. These are even worse than fortune cookies!"

"Fortune cookies?" Draco asked, perplexed.

"Oh, you've never heard of them have you?" she asked. Draco nodded. "Well, it IS a muggle thing. At Chinese restaurants you get a cookie and enclosed in the cookie is a slip of paper that has your 'Fortune' in it." Myra explained.

Draco was only vaguely paying attention. He was looking at his final card. A shiver ran down his spine, he thought he heard someone calling his name softly. A girl. He shook his head, it couldn't be.

Draco turned back to Myra who was talking animatedly about these Fortune Cookies. He didn't give another thought about what had happened.

Harry was horrified. No, he had gone beyond horrified. He was now at I'm-going-to-crawl-under-a-rock-and-never-return. Of all the things it could be. It just had to be THAT.

Blaise was shocked. He hadn't expected this. Yeah, he had expected something more along the lines of the "Sword through the Heart" or the "Devil's Advocate". He had never expected THIS. It was unheard of.

The Golden Roses.

Slowly, Blaise flipped through the pages, found the paragraph, and started to read. "Your soul mate is close at hand. Although you may reject it at first, your true one is already chosen. Follow your heart and not your mind and you will reap the benefits." Blaise stared at Harry. His soul mate? This boy had a SOUL MATE? Blaise felt his heart drop and freeze. He did not like this feeling. It made him angry. And things that made Blaise Zabini angry normally didn't last for long. He destroyed them.

He looked at Potter. _Well,_ he thought, if _this boy has a soul mate then you obviously have no chance. So, now that you've got his attention, make his life Hell. Make him wish he didn't have a soul mate. Play with his mind. Make him wish he was yours, beg to be yours. And then destroy him!_

With his plan in place Blaise strengthened his resolve and turned to sneer at Harry. "Well Potter," he drawled lazily, "Wonder who this soul mate is? Bet it's Longbottom, he always did seem queer. Or if you prefer the opposite sex, perhaps Loony Lovegood. You and her could have plenty of crazy children looking for Crumplehorned Snorkacks, or whatever the shit they are in a hovel by the-" but Harry didn't let Blaise finish. Instead he slapped Zabini across the face.

Blaise just sat there spluttering. "Just draw your fucking cards already!" Harry hissed at him. "And stop with all that bull shit!" This time Harry turned on his full If-Looks-Could-Kill death glare. And Blaise WAS scared.

With shaking hands, Blaise flipped the first card. "The Arrow. An all-around love life. You are free with your emotions and your love, although you have never had a significant relationship. Love and be loved." Harry looked up the page and looked at Blaise's face intently. He shifted uncomfortably under Potter's gaze, staring down at the table and the cards.

Harry wanted to make some snide remark, but he couldn't. He didn't really know Zabini all that well and hadn't even talked to him, really, before this day. _Then why are you suddenly so obsessed?_ A small voice in his head asked. _Good point,_ he replied. _So don't give him another thought_, the voice went on, _he's just another Slytherin, not worth your time_. Harry nodded in agreement. Zabini was nothing to him.

While all this was taking place in Harry's head, Blaise had flipped over the next card and was now looking expectantly at Harry. "The Two-way mirror. You are currently in an emotionally conflicted relationship. Your feelings came rather abruptly, and you do not know what to make of them. This is also a symbol of your conflict. Your relationship is a two way road, as is the conflict you share." Harry thought about this. It was a very confusing message, that was certain. He looked up to see Blaise looking confusedly at him. "What?" Harry asked.

"Well," Blaise said, "Aren't you going to say something? Some witty remark about Slytherin's having no feelings or something like that?"

Harry smirked at that thought. _Hmmmm,_ he thought to himself, _just act cool, you don't care, don't care._ "Well I just don't see why I should." Harry told Blaise. "Unlike you I don't feel the need to say some snide remark to someone as insignificant as you." Harry said lazily, leaning back in his chair.

Blaise's blood froze. Insignificant? Was that all he was to Potter? Nothing? _Well,_ he reminded himself, _you never really paid him any mind before this...infatuation...came up. Then suddenly he's the center of your world. Why was that? _He asked himself. _Well it started with the sudden dreams, then the fantasies, and then the- that's enough! _He yelled at himself, then turned from the struggle in his mind to the real world.

Harry was looking at him strangely, like he could see the mental battle going on inside Blaise's head. "What?" Blaise asked him.

"Wha-oh nothing." Potter replied sheepishly. "Just turn the next card already." And so Blaise complied. Harry looked at the card and his eyes widened, how odd. "th-"

"You have thirty minutes left in the class. If you have not gone on to feature reading, please do so now." Trelawney said, now standing At the front of the class. She snapped her fingers, making all the cards rise from the table, form neat decks, and sail to the front of the room.

Of course, to Blaise's despair, their cards disappeared before he could see his future. Of course Harry had seen it. "Hey Potter." Blaise hissed quietly, "What was it?"

"Oh, uh-" Harry was scrambling, trying to come up with something neutral, anything but THAT. "Ummm,uh, it was, uh, the, er, seaside?" Harry said, then mentally kicked himself. Yeah, all the uh-ing and um-ing wasn't a give away at all. Nope. Not a bit.

Luckily Blaise took his answer without question. "Well, ah, I guess we should do feature reading then." Harry trailed off, NOT looking at the way Blaise's tongue poked out of his mouth when he was concentrating. NOT looking!

"Ok. Whatever you want." Blaise said, not looking up from his book.

"Uh, you're going to have to look at me for this to work." Harry said, looking down at his hands and trying furiously not to blush.

"Oh Potter," Blaise said sneering. "I thought you'd never ask." He turned a few pages and then looked at Harry, a ferocious grin upon his lips. "Also, according to this we're going to have to touch each other. Think you can bear touching an insignificant Slytherin like me?"

Harry didn't answer. He just couldn't. Instead he took out his quill and parchment, looked at Blaise's face and began taking notes.

_Dang it!_ Blaise thought. _Ah well, there will be more chances don't you worry_. With a nod, Blaise started to work on this little endeavor. First was the hair. _Well, Harry's is dark and shaggy, very messy, but not a didn't-have-time-to-comb-it messy, more like a post-shag or just-got-the-living-daylights-snogged-out-of-me messy. Dear God!_ Blaise thought, appalled. _Since when did I look at Potter's hair like that? Since you- Don't even finish that thought!_ Blaise snarled at himself. He checked his book on hair and wrote down what Harry's meant. Just brilliant.

_Blaise has such nice hair._ That was the thought going round and round Harry's head at the moment. _Makes me want to run my fingers through it and make it nice and messy. AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH! HARRY! NO! You ARE NOT thinking about Zabini's hair in that way! Not even if it is shiny and dark and silky and...NO! Ok, ok...think about something else like...his eyes! Yes focus on his eyes!_

_Ok, ok Blaise, get a hold of yourself. Yes, Potter's eyes are very pretty. But then again, so are so many peoples. Of course not everyone's eyes look like bottomless pools of emeralds,_ a voice in his head pointed out_. You COULD get lost staring into those eyes,_ Blaise agreed. _AAAAAHHHHHH! Blaise you were NOT just thinking about getting lost in Potter's eyes, where you? Uh no? You had better not have. You should think about whether they'd match your bedding and drapes. Oooohhhh, and how nice they'd look against your green comforter if Potter was spread out on it, completely naked and- UGH! ok...something else, something else._

_Wow he's a pretty man,_ Harry was thinking. _Especially with those sparkling eyes. Like chocolate. Oooohhhhh,_ Harry agreed. _Yes. Yummy, delicious chocolate. And the way they glinted in the light was mesmerizing, they held you captivated in their glow. AND,_ the voice in Harry's head added, _the way they look in the light is just beautiful. The way they're filled with fiery anger when he's mad. I wonder if they'd look this wonderful when filled with lust and- Dear God No!_

_Oh Great,_ Blaise thought bitterly. _Potter even has pretty ears. It makes you want to lick and nibble on them and make marks to claim them and- Oh No..._

_His skin is perfect_, Harry marveled. _Absolutely perfectly tanned, smooth, and soft._ Harry resisted the impulse to caress his cheek and see if it's as soft as it looks. _And then there are those delicious lips..._

Blaise was mentally startled, appalled, and to his great despair, rather turned on. He was also probably drooling. And at what? Yep, Potter's mouth. _By God that mouth is perfect. His lips are so smooth, not thin, but not plump either. Absolutely perfect. Now if only they were red and swollen..._

_Zabini's mouth is absolutely delicious_, Harry found himself thinking. _Delicious, like ice-cream, or cake. _His lips, so smooth, a wonderful shade of pale red, but not exactly pink. No definitely not exactly pink. They made Harry want to devour them like candy. _The only thing that would make those even more delicious,_ Harry thought, _is if they were all red and swollen from being overly snogged by- NO NOT THAT!_

_Maybe I could just touch his ear..._

_Just one tiny brush of his cheek..._

_And run my fingers a tiny bit through that messy hair..._

_Perhaps just run one finger over those delicious lips..._

_Just one little kiss..._

_Just one nip on the neck..._

_With just a bit of tongue..._

_And then move onto the mouth and..._

_And then maybe we could-_

The bell rang. Both boys fled the room before anyone else had time to react. If anyone had been watching they would have seen that both boys had been staring deep into each other eyes and moving closer and closer together. Well that could have been interesting. Ah well, maybe next time.


	6. Chapter 5: Hexes,Curses,Poisons,and Pies

**Hello There! **

**So here's Chapter 5! and it's very long! **

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><p><strong>Chapter Five- Hexes, Curses, Poisons, and Pies<strong>

Although Harry had left Divination with considerable speed, he still only managed to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts moments before the bell. When he entered he was hit by the darkness that emanated from the classroom, and namely the figure standing at the front of the class. "Thank you for joining us Mr. Potter." The man said, sneering, as Harry took his seat next to Ron and Hermione. They both shot him a worried look and Hermione mouthed the words "where were you?" at him. He just shook his head and mouthed "it's nothing. Just lost track of the time." back.

Many people would wonder if banging your head repeatedly against a wall of an empty classroom due to sexual frustration is really nothing. But then of course they aren't Harry Potter now are they?

As the man before them, their new defense against the dark arts teacher, began to speak, the lights in the room seemed to dim even more. " 'Ello class. Me name is Mr. Todd an' I will be your teacher in Defense Against the Dark Arts." he had a strange lilt to his voice and as he continued the lights dimmed even more. "This year you'll be learnin' 'bout all the forms of the Dark Arts. The main forms we 'ill be studyin' are curses, 'exes, poisons, an' pies."

At this last word there was a soft wail that swept throughout the room, the room went, if possible, darker. A black, impenetrable mist swirled around the candles on the walls. Another wail sounded, growing until it became a scream.

Mr. Todd snapped into action as he ran to a cracked mirror set in the corner. To Harry's surprise he hit and then kicked the mirror, muttering under his breath. The screams stopped abruptly. He whispered a few words and a silver ball of light shot from his wand to the center of the room. It exploded in a flash of white light. When Harry was able to see again, he noticed the swirls of mist were gone, for now.

"What the Hell was that?" Ron yelled, his face white and his body shaking.

"Blasted mirror." Mr. Todd grumbled. "It normally doesn' act like that. Must 'ave taken an interest to someone in this 'ere room." His eyes swept across them, coming to rest upon Harry, then Malfoy. He grimaced fiercely and turned to write on the board.

"Today you will 'ave your very firs' pop quiz!" he said excitedly. There were groans all around and his grimace widened. "Now, who can tell me wot Foreshadowin' is?"

To no one's surprise Hermione's hand was the first to shoot up. "Yes, Ms..."

"Granger, sir. Foreshadowing is a rhetorical devise used in literature that hints at what will come later on in the story." She answered quickly.

"Very good." Mr. Todd said. "Does anyone know wot cannibalism is?" he asked.

Yet again Hermione's hand was in the air. "Cannibalism is the act of eating the meat of one's very own species, most commonly used to describe people eating people." She gave the textbook answer.

"Ah Yes, very good. Now wot is a Serial Killer?" He asked yet again.

"A serial killer is any person who kills many other people, usually for the enjoyment of killing." She answered, not missing a beat.

"Very good, very good." he said, he grinned showing teeth. "Now does anyone know wot a pie is?" he asked.

"A pie is a type of pastry with a crust and containing a flavored filling." Hermione responded rapid-fire.

"Yes. Now a pie can be made outta any number o' ingredients. There are pumpkin pies, banana pies, cherry pies, shepards pie, apple pie, an' of course meat pie." Mr. Todd explained.

"Uh, professor?" Padma Patil asked. "What exactly is in a meat pie?"

"I'm not even goin' ta tell you Ms. Patil, you'll find out soon 'nough." He replied quickly, ignoring her baffled look.

"Professor, what exactly is the point of this quiz?" Neville spoke up, sounding the question on everyone's mind.

"No point exactly. Just useful information everyone should know...especially you!" He stared at Malfoy, a grin spreading over his features. He abruptly looked away and turned to write on the board. "Turn to page 394. You are to read for the rest of the hour. Ask if you 'ave a question. Begin." then he sat, looking gloomily out at them.

The rest of the class passed with no incidents. They read about multiple less-known hexes and curses, asking the occasional question and once in a while looking up from the text to look around at the weird objects in the room.

During one of these times Malfoy decided to study the hulking chair that sat in a back corner. It was an ancient thing, dark wood with a dark red velvet covering. Around it hung an assortment of sharp, foreboding objects, including what looked to Malfoy like a silver skull and a withered severed hand.

It was when he was looking at the hand that hung low to the ground that Malfoy noticed the staining on the wood. They were dark, puddle-like. As he looked closer he noted similar looking stains on the wall around the chair, and a particular good slashing stain on the chair. _That's odd_, Draco thought, _it almost looks like..._

The bell rang. Loudly. Draco jumped and nearly fell out of his chair. Pansy sniggered, grinning at him. Draco looked up to see the Professor staring at him oddly, a hungry look on his face. He blinked and the look was gone, as if it had never been. Picking up his bag, Draco motioned to the others to follow. They had important plans to discuss, away from the prying ears and eyes of troublesome Gryffindors.

Harry was having a hard time concentrating. He kept on hearing that scream over and over again inside his head. His mind wandered as his eyes drifted from the words on the page to the dark artifacts around the room. He saw a pair of spiked handcuffs that hung from a peg near the ceiling. On a shelf against one wall sat a glassy orb, swirling with a white mist. As Harry watched it, forms seemed to appear and disappear, fading back as the smoky image of a knife splattered with blood appeared. Harry blinked. All he saw was the swirling white fog. A tag hung from the cushion the sphere sat on. He made a mental note to investigate it later.

His gaze moved to another shelf, this one held a length of badly charred rope, and a sparkling black and silver necklace. It was heavy and shining, it seemed to draw in your eyes. Harry could feel himself being pulled to it, enchanted by it. He wanted to stand up and touch it. He was going to stand up, walk over there, touch it, caress it, and-

Hermione pulled on his arm, diverting Harry's attention away from the shining jewels that held him so captivated. He turned, "What?" he whispered.

"Look there." Hermione pointed. "On the middle shelf of that bookcase. See the mask?" Harry looked and he immediately saw what she was talking about. It was a mask for half the face, white, and molded perfectly for the wearer's features.

"What about it?" Harry whispered back, wondering what could be so important about this mask that it would cause Hermione to stop reading.

"Doesn't it remind you of something? I feel like I remember it, like a memory from a long time ago. I just can't remember." she answered. She left it at that and turned back to her book. She was once again immersed in it's written words within seconds.

It wasn't the mask that Harry was interested in, although he kept looking at that same shelf. It was the artifacts on either side of it. On one side lay a cloak, with intwined silver serpents around the edges. On top of the cloak sat a simple black top hat, although it seemed to shine like new, even in the darkness of the classroom.

On the other side was a second mask and a silver circlet. The mask was black, made to hide only the eyes and nose. It shimmered slightly, probably enchanted by some spell. Around It's edges were other entwined snakes, wrapped around tiny roses with thorns. At first glance Harry thought the circlet was simply a metal ring unadorned and un-jeweled. He looked closer and saw the circlet was actually two serpents with their heads twisted together, the eyes actually shined with the tiniest of emeralds.

He looked at them and they seemed to move, their eyes glinting in the candlelight...

-.-.-.-

He was dancing with a girl. They were twirling around in circles, arm in arm amidst other swirling couples. The song ended and the girl, masked and dressed in silver and black, bowed to him. He watched as she swept across the ball-room, coming to stand before the boy with silver hair. She bowed low, twirling off the top hat she wore as she offered her hand to dance. She smiled as the boy took it, and her dark hair flowed down her back as they started to slowly spin. The snakes danced with them...

-.-.-.-

Harry started. Surely it could not be the same. It couldn't be. These should not be the things he was thinking about.

The bell rang. Harry jumped up, ready to leave this creepy place. He grabbed his books, shoved them in his bag, and slung it over his shoulder. "We need to talk." Harry told Ron and Hermione.

"To the dungeons?" hermione asked. Harry nodded.

"To the dungeons."

Mr. Todd waited until the last person (Neville) had left his room. He dropped his "friendly" stature and assumed his persona of maniac depressiveness. He strode over to the door, checked the corridor for stragglers and closed the door with a thud. It locked with a click, and he slid the deadbolt in place, just in case.

He walked over by the cracked mirror and leaned casually against a desk. "Nice performance earlier." he said, voice echoing in the empty classroom. "Did you plan for that? Or were you trying to get me cover blown?" he asked angrily, a sneer on his mouth.

"Well I do try my hardest." a voice issued from the mirror, "Although I really did have a purpose for such theatrics. Course you did look ridiculous , all a scrambling like that." the mirror laughed, a tinkling sound, like chimes of broken glass.

Mr. Todd just glared at it. "Show yourself, you pathetic excuse for a human being!" Mr. Todd snarled, showing teeth.

"Oh Sweeney you are no fun, no fun at all." the voice said. Then a hand came through from the inside of the mirror. Shortly it was followed by the rest of a body. The person grinned and bowed low, mocking Mr. Todd.

"We got no time for that!" Mr. Todd growled. "How's the Dark Lord?" he asked the dark figure.

"As dark ever and still loving to kill muggles, what'd you expect?" the figure replied.

"Not that!" Mr. Todd almost yelled back. "I mean ta potion, it workin' yet?"

The figure laughed. "Course it's working, or do you doubt my expertise in that subject?" Mr. Todd shook his his head quickly, not liking the murderous look on his accomplice's face. "Good." the figure continued, "Then as long as everything goes as planned the end for Potter should be near. Then our Lord will prevail, with us the champions at his side." They said, grinning once more.

"But everyone knows me lord likes Bellatrix best." Mr. Todd said sulkily.

"Do you think I've been crossing Dumbledore for all these years just to be outdone by Bellatrix Lastrange? Do you think I've been plotting, risking my life, and pulling the strings all this time just so I can be second best?" the figure asked, words laced with malice. "No!" they shouted, "And that's why we MUST remain on top of this. Why our plan MUST succeed!"

"And the plan will work, as long as YOU don't mess it up for us. I still don't trust you. How is it that the Dark Lord trusts ya so much when you 'ave been goin' 'gainst us from the beginin'?" Sweeney said sulkily. The figure laughed again, this time mocking him as they leaned casually against a desk.

"You'll just have to ask him now won't you?" the person said, "But I will tell you, he has good reason to. Not to mention he has a soft spot for me, or haven't you noticed?" they smirked, a knowing look in there eyes.

Mr. Todd scowled. "Well I'll just 'ave ta find out wot it is then won't I?" he asked. The figure nodded.

"I've been keeping my act together for years, no one will suspect anything. No one. Now, have you got what I sent you for or not?" the person asked, getting back down to business.

"Yeah I got it. I 'ad to break into the ministry for it, but I got it." Mr. Todd said excitedly, pointing to a shelf at the back of the room.

The figure strode over to it and looked over it's things. "Excellent my friend." they said, grinning wickedly. Mr. Todd, on the other hand still looked sulky. "What is it now Sweeney?" the person said, giving him a look.

"Well I still don't see why I can't," he made a cutting motion across his throat.

The figure laughed again. "Don't you worry Mr. Todd, you'll get your chance soon enough."

"But why can't I just kill 'im myself." Sweeney wined, "'e's just a Malfoy, no one'll miss 'im." he looked crossly over at the hulking chair over in the corner, like it was the bane of all his problems.

"No." the figure said, "He's mine to finish off. I have the perfect revenge for him."

"But-" Sweeney whined.

"no, he's mine." the figure growled.

"Just make sure you do it right. If you can finish off Potter while you're at it all the better." Mr. Todd snarled.

"Potter's the Dark Lord's." the dark figure snarled back. "But mark me, before this year is out Draco Malfoy will die."

The dungeons were dark, cold, and silent. Harry, Ron, and Hermione's footsteps echoed across the corridor as they descended the steps that took them deep beneath the school. Although in Slytherin territory, the dungeons were the safest place to have an undercover discussion. They knew they would not be overheard. Another turn and a couple hundred stairs later and they were to their destination. The room was dark.

Being a Slytherin, Draco knew the dungeons well. Slytherins knew the twists and turns of the corridors, the dark corners and dead ends, they knew it all. They also knew the quietest spots that went unfrequented, where you were not going to be overheard. That was where they were headed.

Checking around the corner, Draco pulled his friends into an empty room, close to their destination. He shut the door. "We need to talk before we meet with the others. Nott's going to be there and we need to be careful." He told them.

Pansy nodded in agreement and turned to Goyle. "You need to be updated on this right?" Goyle grunted his consent. "Well it all started with...wait." she looked questioningly at Draco, "What IS this all about?"

Draco sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well it's kinda a long story. I guess that the main reasons are Myra Potter, Slytherin Prince and Princess, the accident this summer, and of course, Potter himself." Draco explained carefully.

Pansy continued to look at him, "Well you had better start with the Potter issue, both of them." she said.

Draco nodded and motioned them to sit, this would warrant a lot of explaining after all. "Well we all know that this year I will have to run for Slytherin Prince right?" there were nods of consent, "And we all don't want Nott to be it right?" more nods, "Well then I need a girl, and what better girl then Myra Potter?"

Pansy snorted, she, after all, could think of lots of better girls. Draco shot her a look and continued, "But there's a problem. Something's not right about that girl. I mean yeah she's uncharacteristically hot and sexy, but there's something underneath that. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it." he explained.

Blaise nodded, "I've felt it too. There's something wrong, off, about that girl. She's dangerous Drake, be careful."

Draco sighed again. "But that's just the thing. I can't give up on this or I loose and Nott wins. And you all KNOW I can't afford that, not now." he ran his fingers through his hair again. "It wouldn't matter as much if there was someone else running for Princess..."

"But that's just it." Blaise interrupted, "no one would go against her. They would know they couldn't possibly win."

Draco shook his head, "I KNOW THAT! that's just the problem. Then of course there's the whole other Potter problem...", he looked at Blaise, amusement in his eyes.

Pansy watched this exchange curiously. "What do you mean the OTHER Potter problem?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at Blaise.

He opened his mouth for a retort, but was answered instead by someone else. "Well isn't it obvious?" Crabbe asked, perplexed. Pansy and Goyle both shook their heads. "Blaise has the hots for Potter." he stated matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Sometimes you really do scare me Crabbe." Blaise said. Crabbe grinned at him, giving him a wink. Blaise just rolled his eyes back and said, "Crabbe is right though. I do seem to have the...uh...hots for Potter." he looked quite disgusted as he said that. He did fancy HARRY bloody POTTER after all.

"Bu-Bu-but how? When ? Why?" Pansy spluttered, looking agape at him.

Blaise just shrugged, "I dunno why or how, but I do know when. During the summer, around the time that the um, incident happened. I believe it was the 31st of July actually." he mumbled gloomily.

"So anyways," Draco said loudly, diverting the attention away from Blaise, who had been receiving death-glares from Pansy. "I've been trying to get them to talk and interact more since neither one has been even remotely interested in the other until now...and they ARE partners for divination class, which is at least a start right now. Although from what I witnessed SOMEONE fucked that up earlier." he said, glaring at Blaise, who held his hands up in surrender.

"Hey!" he protested, "it's not my fault. I don't see YOU trying to be all friendly with Potter. You try being a nice little Slytherin while he's insulting your parents."

Draco snorted. "And of course I'm guessing that comment was completely unprovoked and glorious Saint Potter just came up with it on his own." Blaise shook his head sheepishly. "I thought not." Draco went on, "Anyways, that's not the only problem. I kind of had a little run-in with Potter this morning on the train and let's just say it did not end well."

"I still cannot believe you never told me this Blaise!" Pansy screeched, still glaring death. "I could have helped! I just thought that you had finally wised up like the rest of us and decided to try and ruin Potter's life too." she interrupted.

Draco glared at her, "ANYWAYS!" Draco yelled, turning all eyes on him. "I think it's time for us to discuss-uh-the incident." Draco gulped, preparing for what had to come.

"What happened?" Pansy asked the obvious question.

"Well at the end of the summer I-" Draco began.

"Start at the beginning." Goyle interrupted. "Explain everything."

Draco took a deep breath and started again. "When school got out last year I went to the manor like usual. A few weeks into vacation and I had not yet seen any of Nellie. During this time I was getting...uh...very friendly with prominent pure-blood wizard families's daughters. Purely for political purposes of course." Pansy snorted. Like any of them would buy that.

Draco shot a glare at her and continued. "Then one day Nellie shows up at the manor, all smiles and happiness like nothing had ever happened. It was obvious something had. She was...different...I don't know how, she just was. She was more guarded, like she was hiding some horrible secret. It wasn't until that night, while we were having an evening drink in the parlor that I noticed them. She had scars, red angry welts and deep gashes, all up her arms. Her wrists were red and raw, looking like they were cut and burned. I only saw them when she had reached for her glass and her sleeve was pulled up. When she noticed me watching she quickly pulled her sleeve back down, like she hoped I hadn't noticed. I did."

"What were they from?" Crabbe asked.

"Well that's just the thing, I don't know. It was obvious that she has been in a fight. I'm guessing from her wrists and the welts that she was then tortured, and pretty badly at that." Draco answered, his brow furrowed.

"But who would DO that. Who COULD do that?" Blaise asked, "I mean she's NELLIE LOVETT for heavens sakes. No one can beat her in a duel. No one could get her to drop her guard long enough to even think of capturing her." Draco shifted uncomfortably. "Present company excluded of course." Blaise corrected. Draco just shook his head and ran a hand through his hair again.

"Well I was planning to ask her before bed, but she locked her door. She's NEVER done that before. It was so strange. And in the morning she was gone." Draco continued his story.

"Gone? What do you mean gone? Gone where?" Goyle asked, perplexed and worried at the sinister turn this story had taken.

"That's it, I DON'T KNOW!" Draco almost yelled, frustrated at his lack of useful knowledge. "I asked my father and he said she had gone on an important mission for the Dark Lord. And no, he didn't tell me what it was." Draco said as Pansy opened her mouth. She abruptly closed it and nodded, wanting him to continue.

"It was a week, possibly week and a half that I ran into Potter in muggle London. And Potter was piss drunk. Turns out he's very chatty, very friendly when he's drunk. So I ask him questions. Where was Nellie? Had he seen her? What was she doing? I really did not want to know this answer."

"What did he say?" asked Pansy, "They weren't...seeing each other were they?" she looked worriedly at Draco, trying to read through his mask.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Of course not! She's not really Potter's type after all." he said with a snicker and a pointed look at Blaise.

"Oh be quiet!" Blaise scolded. "Then where was she?"

Draco took a deep breath, preparing for what he had to reveal. "She was at Nott's." Pansy gasped, shock written all over her face. Goyle and Crabbe looked murderous, and Blaise looked confused beyond belief.

"Why that sick fucker!" Pansy screeched. "Next time I see him I'm gonna kill him! There won't even be enough left of him to send home in a matchbox." she threatened, fire blazing in her eyes. Crabbe and Goyle cracked the knuckles in agreement. Nott was going down.

Draco rolled his eyes again and motioned for them to sit back down. "Don't worry it wasn't like that at all, although I almost wish it was. Life would be so much easier if that was what had happened."

"Wait, wait, wait." Blaise interrupted. "Just a moment. How did Potter know that?" Draco grinned, Blaise had hit it right on the head. He was not going to like the answer.

"Well it seems as though Potter and Nott were seeing quite a lot of each other this summer. You see just about every day they would have tea together. I think Nellie was there because she needed a place to stay where she could easily get in contact with the Dark Lord. What better place than Nott Manor?" Draco explained. He waited to give them all a moment to soak that all in. What he had to say next would be a startling revelation. He could see Blaise struggling inside, probably trying to maintain faith in Potter while still organizing all the facts.

"So...since when have Slytherins been having Gryffindors over for tea? And especially the boy-who-won't-bloody-die? What was it? Some plan for the Dark Lord to get his hands on my Harry?" Blaise asked carefully. Draco sniggered at his use of HIS Harry, but he left it for now, he would give Blaise grief later.

"Unfortunately no." Draco answered, sighing again.

"Then what were they doing?" Blaise asked, the worry clear in his voice. Draco tried to find a way to put the next fact kindly, gently, as to not completely break Blaise. He didn't come up with anything. Well, the direct approach almost always turned out well. Best of luck to him.

"Snogging." Draco said bluntly. Blaise let out a strangled yelp and fell from his seat onto the floor. Draco rolled his eyes at Blaise. "Oh stop being such a drama queen!" He snapped. Blaise just continued to lay there, looking for all the world like someone had just hit him with a 50lb bowling ball.

"B-Bu-but." Blaise managed to squeak out. "H-how could he do this to me?" he wailed, still on the floor.

"Well, you two aren't actually going out yet." Pansy pointed out, making Blaise wail again.

"But he's still mine!" Blaise screeched. "I'm going to kill Nott! I'm going to destroy that fucker! Oh Hell! They had better not have done anything else!" he stood up, fire in his eyes. "If he even so much as laid a hand on Harry I will rip his intestines out and strangle him with them! That BASTARD!" during his rant Blaise had walked over to the door, his hand was now on the handle.

"Uh, Blaise dear. Where are you going?" Pansy asked worriedly. Draco just watched, amusement alight in his eyes.

"Nott hunting." Blaise said matter-of-factly. He opened the door.

Now, Draco thought, was the time to intervene on this madness. "Although Nott hunting does sound quite fun, I don't think you should be going to Azkaban for murder on your first day of school. wait until next week at least." Draco said jokingly. Blaise's face fell and he shuffled quietly to his seat. Draco thought he heard him mutter, "I'll kill that fucker." and he laughed softly. Life would definitely be interesting this year.

"Nott hunting aside." Pansy was saying, "What I want to know is how Potter knew Nellie was there." she stated, bringing them back to continue Draco's story.

"Well Potter said that one day when he went over to Nott's place, she answered the door. According to Potter she was acting strange then too. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, he described them as being shining silver orbs with barely any pupils. He said she was all jumpy, volatile too. She would mutter to her self a lot, and sometimes she would be about to say something, something important. She would struggle a bit, utter half a disjointed sentence and then lapse into brooding silence. He said that one day she got even weirder, and that's saying something." here Draco paused in his story, trying to get all his facts right. Making sure that what he said would have the proper effect.

"Potter said that she was very dark and dangerous, or at least more than she usually is. He said it was like she was posessed. That day she cornered Harry in one of the dark corridors of the manor. She seemed nervous and kept glancing around. She seemed to battle with herself for a minute or two and when she spoke it was like she had to force every word out. Then she told him that the Dark Lord wanted-"

There were footsteps and voices in the hallway. Draco put a finger to his lips and crept silently to the door. He looked out, up and down the hallway. There was nothing. He sneered and stepped back into the room. He checked his watch. "We should go down now, the others will be arriving soon." he said. The others nodded and followed him our of the room. A turn at the end of the corridor, a couple hundred stairs, and they were there. They entered the room quietly. A fire was burning. Draco stopped in his tracks. Someone was already there, waiting.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione threw themselves on the dark couches around the fireplace. A whispered word from Hermione and a fire sprang up. The flames were dark and cast deep shadows around the room.

"So," Ron spoke first, "What is this all about?" Harry and Hermione exchanged looks. How could Ron be so oblivious?

"Well," Hermione said carefully. "Many things really. First, I guess, the new professor, then there's the Slytherin problem, and finally Nellie." she looked at Harry, wanting him to begin.

Harry took a deep breath and started, voice low, "I was looking around Mr...Todd's room today and I saw quite a few strange objects." he recounted to them his tale about what he had seen.

"I saw those too." Hermione added, "But I really didn't think anything about it. Personally I think the white mask is more important."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "I know you think that, but you don't know why you think that do you?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head no. "But I just have this feeling that it's important. We shouldn't just write it off."

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Ron cut him off. "I think she's right Harry. You know her feelings have been right more than once. Who knows it might me important. Anyway, I think you two should know what I saw."

Harry looked at him. Ron standing up for Hermione? What was going on here? Oh well, Harry could deal with this later, but for now...

"What did you see Ron?" Hermione asked, her eyes shining in excitement.

"Well, you know that creepy chair that he keeps in the corner?" Ron asked. They both nodded. "Underneath it were all these cogs and things. It looked like it was possibly mechanical. I don't think it means anything, but it sure was weird." Harry shrugged. A weird looking chair didn't sound very interesting or important to him.

"What else?" Harry asked impatiently.

"There were also," Ron gulped, "razors. He had tons of them! There were a few around the chair, and some sat on shelves. Um-" he paused, thinking of how to phrase this. "There was one that seemed...more precious than the others. It sat alone on a shelf, on top of a black velvet cloth." He proceeded to describe the razor in great detail.

"No!" Harry bellowed. "No." he said softly, "it can't be."

Hermione looked pityingly at him, "But it looks like it is. After all, we never knew what happened to her stuff. Maybe professor Todd just bought it somewhere." she said quietly, the voice of reason, radiating calm.

Harry shook his head yet again. "The ministry should have taken her stuff." he growled, "It's dangerous. What if HE gets a hold of it? Then it's over, the war's lost. It would be as bad as if he had her. How could they be so stupid!" he asked angrily.

"Well," Hermione said, uncertain. "What do you think of the new professor anyway? Do you really think he could be working for HIM?" she asked, "I really don't think we should trust him."

"Hello Hermione. Who assigns the professors?" Ron asked.

"Dumbledore!" he and Harry answered together.

"But he-" started Hermione.

"I mean we have to trust Dumbledore. He's like the most powerful, strongest, funniest, handsomest-"

"Beautiful wizard there ever was. So...professor Todd just can't be evil." Harry finished.

"Ok, I guess you guys are right." Hermione agreed. "Now about the Sly-" she started.

"Shhhhh!" Harry whispered, "Did you hear something?"

A muffled wailing and soft whispered voices came from nearby. There was a thump and the voices got louder. Then they faded back to nothing. Hermione looked at the two boys, eyes wide. "Who?" she mouthed.

"Probably just more Slytherins, it is their territory after all." Harry said softly. "And about Slytherins..."

They talk for a while about what to do about Myra and Malfoy. Harry decided, after they spent ten minutes bashing ALL Slytherins, that it would be best for now if he didn't mention his "problem".

A while later and they were still on the subject of conniving, malicious, self-centered, pure-blood Slytherins. After finally exhausting their supply of names specially reserved for certain Slytherins, they broached the subject of that summer.

"I just can't believe Malfoy doesn't feel ANYTHING after loosing her." Hermione was saying, "I mean, they were a pair, inseparable. I truly thought he deeply loved her."

"That's the thing about Slytherins, Hermione." Ron said coldly, "They aren't like you and me. They create "relationships" for personal gain only. They are manipulative and self- centered bastards. He never loved her, he just loved her power and used her." Ron glared into the fire.

"But I think he did care, he does care. He was furious on the train, after all. And how could they be that close without him caring? We all knew Nellie, she wouldn't let someone use her." Hermione said thoughtfully, looking at Ron.

"Unless she was blinded by love, that is." Ring growled. "How she fell for that...that PRICK! I'll never understand. Anyway, she-"

"Shhhhh!" Harry hissed. He had been silent as Ron and Hermione fought it out, alone with his thoughts. He had been listening down the corridor. There were footsteps coming this way.

"There's someone coming." he whispered softly. They sat in silence as the footsteps drew closer. Finally they stopped, and Harry let out a breath. He hadn't realized he was holding it.

Hermione turned from her spot on the couch and looked at the doorway. She let out a shrill scream.


	7. Chapter 6: Denial

**YAY! ANOTHER CHAPTER! Sorry I haven't updated this one in FOREVER but I've been writing and updateing all my other stories...**

**So THANK YOU to crazed-slash-fan for reviewing! You make me want to actually continue writing this story! and you make me HAPPY!**

**DICLAIMER: Saddly I still do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in his wonderful story...I do kinda own the character of Nellie Lovett...although not really...neither do I own house-unity projects, Quidditch tryouts, hospital wings, potions, bloddy bandages, or coded letters...**

**WARNING: yes this is slash...you should know this by now or you have not been reading this story...**

**ENJOY! :) and please review or comment or tell me random stuff or ask me questions or give me plot ideas! all things are welcome and make me equally happy! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 6- Denial<strong>

"What the fucking HELL are you doing here!" Draco Malfoy yelled. Hermione stopped mid-scream, realizing exactly who the pale figure standing in the doorway was.

"We could ask you the same question." Harry said coldly. He still laid lazily on the couch, not even making an effort to get up and confront the Slytherin.

Draco took a step into the room, "This is Slytherin territory, in case you didn't notice." he replied, "I have every right to be here, unlike you."

Harry snorted scathingly, "Like you ever paid attention to house territories. At least we aren't gallivanting about in your common room. Or your dormitories." Harry replied, finally looking up to give Malfoy a cold glare.

Draco returned the glare with equal ferocity. Behind him, the rest of the Slytherins were materializing out of the darkness, in case he needed back-up. "Get out!" Draco growled.

"No." Harry replied shortly, not moving from his spot on the couch.

Draco took a step forward. "In case you didn't understand me, I said get out." he hissed, "Leave now!"

Harry just stared back at him. "And I said no. We're not leaving. You get out!" he said evenly. Draco felt Blaise come to stand next to him, and he watched as Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, eyes downcast. A sudden magnificent idea came to Draco.

"Fine." Draco said. Harry looked upon surprise, shock written on his face. "Come on guys, let's get out of here." He turned around, giving a wink to Blaise. Blaise understood and winked back. When he got to the doorway, Draco stopped. Looking over his shoulder at the still standing Ron and Hermione he said, "Granger, Weasley, could I speak to you for a moment? Prefect to prefect?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. Ron shrugged and they both followed Draco to the door. The rest of the Slytherins filed out behind him, except for one. The door closed and Draco slid the bolt shut, it locked with a slight thud.

"Okay Malfoy." Hermione said curtly, "What is this about?" she rounded on him, facing down the Slytherins. Draco waved her question off.

"Quiet!" he hissed, turning to the door, listening intently. Hermione, having opened her mouth to give a swift retort, shut it, realizing what he was on about. She gave him a curious look and listened closely. No sound could be heard from inside the room.

Even after he heard the door lock, Harry still did not look up. He continued to look deeply into the fire, willing himself to keep his eyes away from the teen they felt drawn to.

Blaise was watching Harry intently, searching for any sign that Harry was going to acknowledge his presence. There was nothing. With an inward sigh Blaise walked over to the fire and sprawled sexily on the couch across from Harry.

Finally, Harry looked. His green eyes met brown ones, and for a moment neither boy could look away. Harry watched as a soft, pink tongue escaped Blaise's mouth and licked his lips slowly. A mad anger swept through Harry and he tore his gaze away from the brown eyes.

Blaise saw Harry's emerald eyes widen as they met his own. Unconsciously Blaise licked his lips. To his despair the green eyes turned cold and angry, ripping their gaze away from him.

"What do you want Zabini?" Harry asked angrily. Blaise could only stutter out a response. "To make me look like an idiot? To destroy my life?" Harry's voice rose in his fury. "Why don't you just leave me alone like every other year? Why don't you let me find my 'soul mate'! WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Harry let out this volley of questions, breathing hard. Blaise just stared back, shocked.

"What do I want, Potter?" Blaise replied quietly, cold fury rising in his chest. "I want a lot of things, everything." Blaise desperately wanted to say "you", but luckily he did not give in to that impulse.

"Just stop with that shit again Zabini!" Harry interrupted. "What do you want with me?" Harry yelled, his anger getting the best of him.

Blaise stood up angrily, his cold fury turning into a boiling rage. "Nothing." he said dangerously, body quivering with suppressed fury.

"What do you want with me!" Harry repeated loudly.

"FUCK YOU!" Blaise yelled, running to the door.

Out in the hall Draco heard the raised voices and quickly unbolted the door. Blaise hurtled through it, slamming the door with a resounding BANG! behind him. He continued to run. The group watched him go, until they could no longer hear the echo of his feet against the flagstones.

Hermione turned angrily to Draco, "What was THAT all about?" she asked. Draco sighed and ran a hand shakily through his hair.

"Damn it! Those two really need to control their anger. They'll get nowhere at this rate!" was the only explanation he left her with. Draco turned to the other Slytherins and together they set off down the corridor, turning towards their common room.

Hermione was left spluttering in their wake. "What did he mean, 'They'll get nowhere'?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"I don't even want to know." she replied, "Come on, let's get Harry, it's time for dinner."

Ron rubbed his growling stomach and nodded, he was always ready for dinner.

Harry sat alone, gazing morosely into the fire as he continued to lie on the couch. The sound of Blaise's yells and the slamming door echoed in his head. Already he was regretting saying those things. He was just so angry! He didn't like the thought of the Slytherin playing with him, even if it made him feel all good inside.

Fighting the impulse racing through him to go and find Zabini, tell him he was sorry and everything was alright, Harry sat up. Why was he so drawn to this boy? Harry shrugged, how was he supposed to know? He just knew that Zabini made him feel like he hadn't in a long long time, even if it was all fake.

Slowly a plan formed in Harry's mind. A grin spread over his face as he heard the door open.

"Uh, Harry?" Hermione asked carefully, "It's time for dinner." she was shocked to see that when he turned around Harry was smiling.

"Dinner sounds perfect." Harry replied, his grin getting bigger. Ron looked at Hermione quizzically. She shrugged back. Who cared what had happened as long as Harry was happy? He hadn't smiled like that since the end of last year.

Two weeks later and the smile was gone from Harry's face. He could be found flying a hundred or more feet off the ground, watching shapes flying beneath him...in a thunderstorm. Dipping lower, Harry watched as Jeremiah, a potential new chaser, wove through the other players at top speed. He watched as Jeremiah threw the Quaffle with all his strength at the goal posts. Ron caught it easily, and threw it to his sister. Ginny took off, ready to challenge the other potential keeper.

Harry smiled slightly in satisfaction as she put another goal past him. She was good, as was Ron. Over the summer Ron had worked hard. He was no longer the clumsy, unconfident keeper he was at the end of the last year. He now flew with strength and confidence. The only goals he could not save were those scored by Ginny.

Harry watched his team with satisfaction. They should have no problem destroying Slytherin this year. Harry swooped down lower. The storm was getting worse; he was drenched with cold rain and could barely see his hands on his broom. He watched as the other players flew around him, still trying to earn their position on his team. He saw Fred make contact with a bluddger and turned to watched it's progress.

"HARRY WATCH OUT!" someone yelled and Harry turned. He didn't see the other bluddger make contact with the back of his head. Everything went black.

Harry awoke in bed. Night had fallen. He looked around him at the high vaulted ceilings and the lines of beds against the wall and wondered, not for the first time, what he was doing in the Hospital Wing. Harry groaned. Of course, Quidditch.

He looked out the window, noticing that the moon was high. He must've only been out a few hours then. Looking around him Harry noticed that despite all the empty beds he was not the only one there. At the end of the cavernous room there were drapes around the bed next to Madam Pomfrey's office door.

Harry lay still for a while, ignoring the throb that had made an appearance in his head, until he heard some muffled groans coming from the end of the room.

Getting up, Harry silently padded over to the bed and pulled the curtains slightly apart. The sight that met him was terrible and beautiful. He gasped loudly.

Next to him a door entered. "Mr. Potter! What are you doing out of bed?" Madam Pomfrey whispered sternly. She followed his gaze and her voice softened. "Aaaahhh yes, I fear there is little I can do for this little thing."

Harry shook his head. "She'll survive, she always does. What happened?" he asked quietly, not able to draw his eyes from the red spots that decorated the bandages.

"I do not know." Madam Pomfrey sighed, "Nor would I be able to tell you if I did. You must not tell ANYONE of this." she whispered wearily. "But you know that already don't you."

Harry nodded. "I guessed that, yeah." he looked sadly at the girl, who mumbled softly in her sleep.

"I need to change her bandages now. You should go back to sleep." Madam Pomfrey said, going to her office. Harry was still there when she returned. She uttered a sigh. "Potter, you need rest." she said.

"Can't I just..." he began.

"She won't wake." Madam Pomfrey said sadly. She began to unwrap the bandages from the girl's arms, revealing deep red welts and cuts, some still oozing blood. She let Harry stay beside her, holding a goblet of potion.

Madam Pomfrey was applying the last bit of potion to the Girl's wounds and replacing clean, white bandages when the large doors at the other end of the room opened. Dumbledore came sweeping in, followed by Snape and, to Harry's great surprise and terror, Lucius Malfoy.

"Good evening Poppy, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said in his deep rumbling voice.

"In bed you get Mr. Potter." Madam Pomfrey said quietly, ushering him back to his bed. Harry knew that this time there would be no arguing. After getting another dose of potion Harry laid down and watched the four of them disappear into Madam Pomfrey's office. He slowly drifted off to sleep to the sounds of softly muttered voices.

"Nothing we can do but hope she awakes." Madam Pomfrey said. Lucius Malfoy glared at her and continued to pace the office.

"But what happens when she wakes up? What will we do then?" Lucius asked the group as a whole.

"Why we tell the entire school no doubt." Snape said snidely. "We tell them that their champion has returned from the dead. Whatever could go wrong with that plan!" he said angrily.

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Calm yourself Severus. We shall keep this a secret. No one besides us will know, except for those she deems worthy to tell." he said calmly.

"But why? The school will rejoice if they learn she's returned. Their spirits will be revived. We might win the war." Madam Pomfrey asked, looking to Dumbledore.

It was Lucius who answered. "Why?" he said coldly. "What do you think the Ministry would do if they found out a Death Eater that they have knowledge about is still at large? Lock her in Azkaban? Sentence her to the Dementor's kiss? Or use Voldemort's only weakness for their own twisted purposes?" he sighed. "Albus is right, no one should know."

"What about Potter?" Snape asked. "What do we do with him?"

"He did not recognize her, or at least not completely. He should be safe...for the time being." Pomfrey said. She looked at the clock, it was midnight. "You all should get some rest, who knows what'll happen tomorrow." she said.

"Good luck Poppy." Dumbledore said as he stood to leave. "I'll be back to check on her tomorrow evening. Good luck to all of you." He swept out of the office, robes billowing behind him.

"We'll leave you to prepare for tomorrow." Snape said as he and Lucius left the office, shutting the door behind them.

Snape walked halfway down the room before he noticed Lucius was no longer besides him. He turned to see Lucius standing in front of the bed, curtains drawn partly open. He walked back silently.

Lucius was gazing down at the small girl. The moonlight splashed across her face, making her look even paler and smaller than before. "Lucius, there's nothing you can do." Snape said softly, coming to stand beside him.

"It's not her I'm worried about!" Lucius snapped. Snape was silent, letting Lucius be alone with his thoughts. "Take care of them Severus." He said quietly. "In case...in case...after the war. Take care of them. Make sure they're safe."

With that he turned away from the sight on the bed and strode through the doors.

Snape stood there for a moment. The girl shifted slightly in her sleep. "Tom...don't..." she muttered slightly, then she was still.

"May Dead God have mercy on your soul." he whispered. The doors closed behind him with an echoing thud.

As had been the trend for the past two weeks, the boys in the Slytherin dorm, namely Crabbe and Goyle, were woken at 5am by the screams issuing from Draco's bed...again.

"Someone needs to put a silencing charm on that boy." Goyle growled, pulling his pillow over his head.

"We tried that last week." Crabbe said, "More like he needs a muzzle." They both sighed when the screams stopped.

"Thank Wizard God!" Goyle growled, "I don't know how much longer I can take this."

Tempers had been running high in Slytherin house all week. Between school work, Quidditch tryouts coming up, and not being able to sleep, none of the guys in the Slytherin dorm were very happy. Especially Draco.

Something would have to be done about this before someone killed him. The screams and moans started up again.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Crabbe and Goyle both groaned.

The next morning was very strange for Harry. He woke up and found himself yet again in the Hospital Wing. Mind blank and fuzzy, he looked down to the end of the room. Some thought buzzed at the back of his head as he saw the drawn curtains around the bed.

Suddenly Harry's line of vision was blocked by a white flowery apron. "Oh good Harry dear, you're up." Madam Pomfrey said, bustling around his bed. Harry lay still as she did tests on his body. "Fine, you're all fine. Now get down to breakfast, I'm sure your friends'll be worried." she said, chewing on her bottom lip.

Harry nodded and scrambled out of bed, picking up his pile of clothes from the nightstand next to his bed. Madam Pomfrey closed the curtains and he heard her bustling around her offices, and when he was dressed, he opened the curtains and looked out. Madam Pomfrey was leaning over the other bed, muttering words and ladling goblets of potion.

"Oh Harry!" she said, jumping up and quickly pulling the curtains closed. "Good you're ready. Now get down to breakfast and eat something!" she said warmly. She quickly covered the cauldron and stood up. Again, Harry felt the buzzing of familiarity in his head. It faded away as Madam Pomfrey walked over to him. She picked up the empty goblet next to his bed and gestured to the door. "Well? Get going already!" she said, eyes twinkling. Harry was inexplicably reminded of Blaise's eyes. Harry grinned and gathered his bags.

"Thanks Poppy." he said, giving her a small hug.

"No problem Mr. Potter." she said as Harry set off towards the doors. "Oh and Harry." he turned, hand on the door, "I don't want to see you again for at least another two weeks, you hear me?" she told him sternly.

Harry laughed, "Sure thing Poppy." he opened the door and left. Madam Pomfrey watched the door close behind him.

"Did it work?" Snape asked, coming to stand next to her.

"I think so. He doesn't seem to remember." she replied.

"Good." Snape said.

"I don't know if it'll be strong enough. You know how he is." she said, looking up at Snape.

"It'll be strong enough for now." he told her, turning back towards the doors Harry had walked through.

They both knew it would have to be, for Harry's sake.

Draco was tired, hungry, and he hadn't finished his Divination essay. And now what was he doing? He was in the owlrey writing a letter to his father. He swore as his quill left a splotch of ink on his note. Sighing, he quickly finished and signed his name, "hugs and butterfly kisses, your Draco." He sealed the envelope and whistled, calling his black owl down from the rafters.

He watched her sweep down to perch on the ledge next to him. Tayrawr hooted softly and stuck out her leg, allowing Draco to tie his letter on. He stroked her softly on the head and she rubbed against his outstretched hand.

"That's for father." Draco whispered softly. She nipped him gently on the finger and spread her wings out, shaking her tail fathers. "You know where to find him. Be safe." he whispered as she flew up into the sky. He waited until she was merely a dark spec in the sky before he turned away from the window and walked down to breakfast.

Harry was crossing the entrance hall when he was ambushed by a head of bushy hair. "OH HARRY WE WERE SO WORRIED!" Hermione wailed, not relinquishing her grip on him. Slowly Harry detached her hands from around him and looked over her head at the Ginger standing awkwardly next to them.

"So what's up Ron?" Harry said, grinning at his best friend. Ron grinned back and walked foreword to hug Harry. "So why all the fuss you two?" he asked them.

"All the fuss!" Hermione asked, "How do you expect us to act after what happened to you!"

Harry looked at her, perplexed, and laughed. "haha you guys very funny. I mean I've only been gone for what? Ten hours? It was just a minor blackout, nothing Madam Pomfrey couldn't handle."

Ron looked at him quizzically, "Uh Harry?" he asked, "Do you know what day it is?"

"It's Thursday right? Last night was Wednesday when we had Quidditch tryouts. Right?" he asked, wondering what this was all about.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione wailed, throwing her arms around him again. Harry looked questioningly at Ron from around Hermione's head. Ron just shook his head and shrugged.

"It's Sunday Harry. You've been completely out for three days." Ron said. Now Harry understood. A snuffling sound came from the girl still flung around him. Harry soothingly rubbed her back, trying to calm Hermione enough to extract himself from her hold.

"Look like you've been beaten again Weasley." a snide voice came from across the entrance hall. "Or do you three have an 'understanding'?" It drawled.

The three whirled around, Hermione finally relinquishing her grip on Harry. To no one's surprise, Malfoy and co. stood just outside the entrance to the dungeons.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry asked, voice ringing in the Entranceway. Malfoy just leaned against the wall lazily, not deeming a reply necessary.

Harry looked over to the group, deciding whether it would be smart to fight this out, or run away. The appearance of Blaise from the dungeon entrance made up his mind.

"Come on guys, let's go." he muttered to Ron and Hermione. Together they opened the doors to the Great Hall and slipped inside, closing them quickly behind them.

_Damn it!_ Draco thought. He turned to look at Blaise, and to his surprise his eyes were filled with fury. "Come on you guys, let's go." he said, turning and dragging Blaise with him through the doors to the Great Hall.

Spotting Myra, Draco made his way over to the Slytherin table. She scooted over to make room for him and he sat down, giving her a hug.

"You're late Draco." Myra said, "What were you doing?" she asked.

Loading his plate with pancakes and cinnamon rolls, Draco answered, "I just woke up late, it is Sunday after all." she nodded and continued to eat her eggs. She looked him up and down as he dug into his food.

"Hey Draco." she said.

"Yeah." he answered, not looking up from his plate. "What?"

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked, "You look really tired." there was concern written all over her face.

"Yah. I am tired, so are my door mates...and Pansy. I've been having bad nightmares, can't sleep past four or five." he answered in between mouthfuls.

"Have you gotten a sleeping draught, maybe that would help." she offered, all her attention on Draco.

"Already tried that." Draco replied, still concentrating on his food. "And silencing charms. It's driving my roommates mad." he said, indicating Pansy and Goyle, who were leaning on each other, staring blearily at Blaise and Crabbe across the table.

"Well at least there's an easy solution for that." Myra said, smiling at him. "Ask Dumbledore to give you your own room."

Draco snorted, "And why would that old coot grant me, a Slytherin, something like that?" he asked.

"You're a prefect, right? Doesn't Pansy have her own room? Why shouldn't you too?" Myra asked, looking skeptically at him.

"Well yeah, but she has...certain circumstances in her favor for that one." Draco replied, before refilling his glass with Pumpkin Juice.

Myra rolled her eyes, "Stop making excuses! Anyways," she said, resting her arm on his shoulder, "if you had your own room maybe we could see more of each other."

Draco was saved from the need to reply by the entrance of the owls into the Great Hall. He watched as they swooped down, dropping packages and letters into the laps of their recipients. Only a few stayed long enough to nibble at their owner's breakfast before flying off. Draco caught sight of that snowy owl of Potter's as it landed in front of him, making the mass of owls already there scatter to make room.

"Why's Potter getting all that mail?" Blaise asked from across the table. He was watching worriedly as more owls arrived in front of Potter.

Draco rolled his eyes and winked at Myra, "Why wouldn't he be getting all that mail?" he asked, "What with all the fanwitches fawning over him. Not to mention the Harry Potter Fanclub..." Malfoy trailed off, catching the murderous look on Blaise's face.

"Well they shouldn't be writing to him." Blaise growled. "Maybe I should-"

"No." Draco cut him off, "There will be no rash actions being done about Potter and his fan mail, so just sit and eat your breakfast!" he said sternly.

With no other choice but to do as he was told, Blaise sat, glowering over at the Gryffindor table. By now the swarm of owls had abated and Potter now sat with a pile of letters and his flustered owl. He was cooing to her, softly stroking her head in an attempt to calm her down. She hooted and nibbled his finger affectionately as she offered him her foot. After he detached the letter from her she nipped his ear and swooped off to the owlrey.

Harry was happy to see the familiar writing of his godfather on the envelope. He opened it quickly and took out the slightly lumpy letter. He opened up the sheet of parchment and smiled as a silver ring rolled out. He had written to Sirius a week ago asking him to send it, just in case things happened as Harry planned. Unless of course he was wrong and- Harry didn't like to think about THAT option.

Quickly Harry slipped the ring into his pocket before his friends could catch sight of it, but not before a certain Slytherin saw it. He then opened the letter and began to read:

"Harry, I'm happy to hear that you are having a good first few weeks at Hogwarts. This attraction you are having is very intriguing and as per your request I have enclosed The Ring. Although I do not know what your plans for it are, remember that we shall not judge you no matter who your chosen one is. Whoever it is will be one lucky girl. Things at the Graveyard* aren't going well. Since our Silver Prince* left us chaos has reigned and many have been killed or injured and many more have been captured. Now even Snake Master* won't go on any missions. Three days ago Madman* was almost kidnapped while off-duty and is now at St. Mungo's for torture-injuries. The Dark Master* is getting stronger and his Night Riders* are everywhere. Be careful.

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Snuffles "

Harry sighed, of course things were looking bad for their side. The final battle would soon be starting, Harry knew that. He also knew that most of the new attacks were targeting one place: Hogwarts.

Harry looked down at his pile of letters. Well, he thought, might as well get on with this. There was no need to be depressing. Smiling again, he folded Sirius's letter and put it in his pocket. Hermione looked up from her book when she heard him opening up the first of his many fan mail letters.

"Oooohhhh!" she squealed. "Who're these from!" the next ten or so minutes were spent pouring over the many sappy, ridiculous, and overly hilarious notes.

Blaise scowled as Harry tucked the ring safely in his pocket. Who was sending Harry jewelry? Had Harry already found someone? Or was the ring for someone here? These thoughts swirled around in Blaise's head as he watched Harry smile at whatever was in the letter and put it carefully in his pocket. His scowl got even deeper as Harry and his friends laughed over Harry's many letters.

After one very racy letter about Harry, whipped cream, and handcuffs a witch from Kent had sent him Harry was quite exasperated with all his fangirls. "None of them even know me." he said, "But they all still think they love me."

Hermione laughed at this. Taking hold of Harry's hand she said, "We know you Harry. Are we allowed to love you?" She raised an eyebrow at him and Harry had to fight not to laugh. Leaning in she whispered, "Zabini's watching you again." Harry laughed and took hold of her other hand.

"Why?" he asked her, fighting the impulse to turn and look.

"How am I supposed to know?" Hermione responded.

Harry thought for a second, and a wonderful, conniving, very Slytherin thought bloomed in his mind. "Might as well put on a show then." He whispered in her ear. Stifling laughter, Hermione nodded. Harry looked across the table at Ron and winked, as he draped one arm across Hermione's shoulder.

Looking quite miffed, Ron asked, "What are you two DOING!" obviously very slow on the uptake. _After all,_ Ron thought, _my arm should be the only one allowed to do that and-um-er-eep!_ Banishing those thoughts from his head, Ron looked at those two. They were grinning maliciously at him.

"You see." Hermione said, snuggling slightly into Harry and making Ron remind himself that he WAS NOT JEALOUS! "Currently a Blaise Zabini is watching our friend Harry here."

"So?" Ron asked, not following her drift.

"And our friend Harry here happens to like Blaise Zabini's watching him. Although he'd probably prefer Blaise Zabini's doing OTHER things to him." she said slyly.

Harry, who had just moments before taken a swig of Pumpkin Juice, promptly started choking. "Hermione!" he said, scandalized.

"Oh don't deny it Harry, it's quite obvious." she said, smiling kindly at him while she ran her fingers through his hair.

"But what does that have to do with what you two are doing?" Ron asked, clearly too obviously slow to understand.

Harry sighed at his friend and rested his head lightly on Hermione's shoulder, the very picture of an in-love boyfriend. "Jealousy is the key to success." Harry told Ron. "Plus it just pisses Bla-Zabini off. And he's just so damn SEXY when he's angry." Harry added.

Covertly, Harry looked at Blaise out of the corner of his eye. He sighed contentedly when he saw Blaise staring straight at them. Of course, as he wrapped his arms around Hermione, he did not notice the daggers Blaise was glaring at Hermione.

Seeing Harry whisper in that-that MUDBLOODS ear was too much for Blaise to handle. Before Draco could stop him, Blaise sprang up from the table and ran from the Great Hall. As the doors shut behind him, Draco turned to Myra. "So, have I ever told you about my broomstick collection?"

The next week was proving to be Hell for Draco. What did he care about house unity projects? But yet he still could be found in the Astronomy Tower, neutral territory, on a perfectly beautiful Monday night.

Not bothering to pay attention to what the other prefects were saying, Draco was plotting his next moves on Myra. So far things were going well. They were at least friends, if not a little more, but unfortunately that was the least of his problems.

You see what Draco had forgotten about was the competition that would have to take place between the runners for Princess. And then of course he would just have to beat Nott to the position of Prince.

When all was said and done at the meeting, Draco quickly hurried back to Slytherin territory with Pansy by his side. Upon reaching the common room Draco spotted Myra curled up in an armchair by the fire and he flopped down onto a nearby couch.

Pansy sprawled down on her normal seat and gave Draco the Look. "What?" he drawled at her. She just rolled her eyes back.

"Did you even listen to one word at the meeting?" she asked him.

Draco sneered back at her. "Who cares about inter-house unity? I have my own house unity to worry about." he drawled, stretching out his arms and flinging his hair from his face. Pansy snickered. "What?" he asked her, frowning.

"Nothing." she huffed, rolling her eyes again. "I was pretty surprised when you didn't throw a fit at our idea, but if you weren't paying attention..." she trailed off.

"What do you mean 'our idea'? What idea is this?" he asked her, eyes narrowed.

"You'll just have to wait and see." she countered. She stood up and stretched her back. Flipping her hair onto her back, she turned back to Draco. "We're announcing all the house's ideas at our house gathering Friday. You'll see then."

Yawning, she gathered her books and bag. "Well I'm off to bed. Come on Goyle." she said over her shoulder as she turned to the stairs leading to Slytherin Tower.

Goyle scrambled from his spot perched on the arm of her chair to follow Pansy to the stairs. Pansy turned again. "Oh and Draco, Quidditch tryouts tomorrow, don't forget." she said before turning and going up the stairs, Goyle close behind her.

"UUUUGGGGHHHHH!" Draco groaned, whacking his head a pillow. Could this week get any worse?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Graveyard=Grimmauld Place (OoTP headquarters), Silver Prince=Nellie Lovett, Snake Master=Severus Snape, Madman=Mad-eye Moody, Dark Master=Voldemort, Night Riders=Death Eaters**


	8. Chapter 7: When Lightning Strikes

**YAY! I'm FINALLY updating! Sorry it took so long! But homework does not wait for Fanfictions to become completed...**

**Anyways...Unfortunately there is a lack of Blairry in this chapter...I know it made me want to cry...however new characters had to be introduced so you've gotta do what you've gotta do...However, I may be uploading the next chapter later this afternoon (hopefully) which has more Blairry...which it WONDERFUL! :)**

**DICLAIMER: Yah I still do not own Harry Potter...I know it's very surprising...nor do I own Quidditch, awesome racing brooms, lime green sports bras, Draco Malfoy's sneer, or locker rooms...**

**WARNING: this story is slash...however there is not a lot/any in this chapter which makes me want to cry... :( **

**crazed-slash-fan: I'm glad you liked the last chapter :) and yes he is ;) ...anyways I appologize for the lack of slashyness in this chapter...but pleas keep on reading for the next 2-3 chapter shall be worth it...they're already written and believe me they are quite slashful :) **

**THANKS FOR REVIEWING! and if anyone else wants to review I will love you FOREVER! :D**

**SO ENJOY! :)**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 7-When Lightning Strikes<span>**

Luckily for Draco, the next afternoon was beautiful, warm and sunny. At five minutes to 3 o'clock Draco stalked out of the locker rooms and onto the Quidditch pitch. Dressed in Slytherin green, Draco marched over to the group of students standing in a clump, brooms in hand.

When Draco came to a stop in front of the cluster, the group fell silent, staring in awe at their Seeker and Captain. "Ok you guys, chasers get into one group, keepers in another. Take a few warm up laps around the pitch. Get going!" he barked.

Draco watched as the two groups kicked off and soared around the pitch. There was a fair number trying out this year, but to Draco's disappointment only a handful looked any good. Casting an eye over the potential chasers Draco automatically spotter 6th year who looked promising. Draco couldn't remember his name, but at least he flew with speed and maneuverability.

Draco spotted Blaise amongst that group and smiled, the boy really was pretty good at this. Looking over at the keepers Draco spotted Liam weaving in and out of the others. Draco didn't know any of the others well, they weren't in his grade, but a few were fair flyers.

Draco signaled for them to do a few more laps and then come in. Once all had landed, a few a little shakily, Draco decided to introduce himself and explain what he wanted to the team. "I'm Draco Malfoy, for those of you who do not already know me. I have been the seeker on the Slytherin team since second year and I've seen some good teams and some bad teams. This is my final year here and I think it's about time we beat Gryffindor. Today I'll be picking the best players of the group, so play your hardest and impress me. Not only will you be judged on how well you play, but you will also be judged on how well you play with others and how good you are at strategy. Now I want to begin with the-"

He paused, Blaise was trying to get his attention. "Looks like we've got ourselves a straggler." he said, pointing over Draco's shoulder.

Draco spun around. "So it does. Do any of you recognize them?" he asked. The Slytherins all strained their eyes to see better. Slowly they all shook their heads.

Draco watched as the person came closer, striding towards them with a broomstick in their hand. As they got closer and the Slytherins could see the person better a quiet murmuring started. They had long hair.

Draco shook his head at the stupidity of this. No girl was ever put on the Slytherin team, everyone knew that. He strode out to confront this interruption.

"I'm sorry Miss but we're having Quidditch tryouts right now. You can't use the pitch." Draco said in mock politeness. The girl sneered at him; he noticed that she did indeed wear the Slytherin crest, though he had never seen her before.

"You must be Draco Malfoy then." she said, looking him up and down. "You're just as Sev-Professor Snape described you."

"You are?" Draco asked, returning the look and scanning her from head to foot. She was pretty short; Draco figured 5ft 1in-2in at most.

She tossed her light brown hair behind her back as she answered, "Natalya Hope."

"And what grade are you in?" he asked, sneering. Accounting for her height and the fact that he hadn't seen her before, Draco thought she's probably be a second, possibly third year.

"Seventh year." she stated, staring him down.

He returned the stare with equal force as he volleyed off another question. "I'm a seventh year and I haven't seen you ever. Why weren't you at classes?" he was hoping to intimidate her into backing out of the tryouts.

"I just got transferred here. I've been in the hospital wing since the beginning of term. I had an...accident on the way here. Just got out this afternoon. Luckily professor Snape came to the Hospital Wing to tell me when tryouts were." she answered, not backing down.

"Oh yes very lucky." Draco said snidely. "What position do you play?" he asked.

"Well normally seeker, but I'm told you already took that." she looked him up and down again, "Although I dare say I think I'd do a better job then you. I can also play keeper and chaser, so I guess I'll go out for keeper. That way we should be able to beat Gryffindor, if you do your job correctly."

She left Draco spluttering indignantly. The nerve of that girl! Why if she knew who she was talking to! Draco followed her and marched over to the rest of the Slytherins.

"You were the one out flying this morning weren't you?" Liam was asking Natalya. She nodded and smiled at Liam, who smiled shyly back. "I saw how you fly, it's amazing. You could probably give Potter a good run for his money, and you'd probably win too." Liam said cheekily. This comment rewarded him with another smile which seemed to cause the majority of the Slytherins to melt.

Draco cleared his throat angrily, drawing the attention back on him. "We'll try out chasers first. Get up there and throw the Quaffle around, try out maneuvers and plays. Remember, you're trying to impress me, so please do." he told them. The group of chasers mounted their brooms and took off, the sixth year boy Draco couldn't remember the name of carrying the Quaffle.

"Hold on." he said as he watched Liam mount his broom. The boy stopped and looked at Draco. "I thought you were going out for keeper, you've never played chaser before."

"Well you see," Liam responded, un-straddling his broom, "I would like to make the team, and with her" he jerked his head at Natalya "going for keeper I'd stand no chance."

Draco shook his head. "You either go for keeper or you leave Liam, and I won't let you leave. I don't care how good a player is, there's no room for a girl like her on this team." he said with conviction. Liam started to protest but Draco just shook his head, jaw fixed; there would be no arguments.

Finding his new chasers was pretty easy. The majority of the boys couldn't catch or throw while staying on their brooms, and two boys had to be sent to the hospital wing with injuries from falling. Blaise showed very well; he could catch well and his throws were hard, even if they weren't always perfectly accurate. Best of all he flew well and worked well with the others.

The second boy who stood out was the one with no name, or at least none that Draco could remember. After a brief conference with Liam he found it out to be Chaz. Chaz was a good flyer, fast and agile and willing to take risks. He also threw accurately and caught deftly, like he was made to do it all at his break-neck speed.

Last, Draco found promise in a Sixth year boy named Nicoló. He caught and threw with talent and great skill, he was fearless, flew with grace and speed, and best of all he had great strategy.

Now Draco turned to the keepers. _What to do about that girl..._Draco thought. "Keepers!" he shouted, sneering at the youngest of the lot. "You'll try out two at a time. Chasers'll shoot 10 on you. You two!" he commanded, pointed at the two youngest. "Get up there!"

He watched as they took off, both of them pathetic flyers. After the first let in 3 goals in a row Draco turned away. He opted to take a look at the new girl. He glanced over at her and saw here eerily staring back at him. She didn't even look away when their eyes met, she just stared harder. Liam must've said something to her, for she gave Draco another look-over before looking away and talking to him.

Draco continued to watch her, taking in her every feature, trying to get rid of that irksome feeling of familiarity. Draco scanned her face; she had a nice complexion, her lips looked soft and pink, her eyebrows were arched and she seemed very practiced at using them to make others feel worthless. Draco had to say, though, that the most extraordinary feature on her face was her eyes. They were a golden brown and seemed to glow with some ethereal light; it was quite eerie to Draco.

He looked at her hair again; a light blown, soft looking, it was quite straight and fell down her back in a cascade. He couldn't tell if she was large or skinny, big-chested or flat. She was wearing over-large robes over baggy sweatpants and a large black t-shirt. She had un-earthly beauty, but Draco couldn't exactly call her hot. She definitely wasn't as sexy as Myra, although Draco couldn't tell what kind of body she had. Draco was confident though that someone with as good a body as Myra had wouldn't be covering it up.

She laughed at something Liam said and smiled prettily. There was something dangerous in her beauty too, though Draco couldn't exactly place what. She reminded him of a Siren. They look gorgeous and sweet until they lure you down to the deeps and eat you alive.

"Um, Mr. Malfoy?" a quiet voice asked behind him.

Draco whirled around. "What!" he barked, making the two first years eep in alarm. The chasers were still in the air, playing some sort of game of catch they had made up. "How many did you each save?" he asked them, looking down at them intimidatingly.

They eeped again. "I-I saved one and he saved two." the shorter of the two answered meekly.

Draco snorted. "Get out of my sight then and stop wasting my time!" he drawled at the two, who quickly scrambled away up to the school.

"You don't have to be so mean to them you know." a leering voice said from behind him.

Draco spun around again and sneered at the new girl. "What do you know about it?" he drawled.

"Enough." the new girl (_Natalie...Natasha...whatever her freaking name was_) answered.

Draco ignored her. "You two!" he barked, pointing at two of the four keepers left. "Get up there! Now!" he watched them kick off, deemed their flying unworthy of his team, and turned his attention back on the new girl.

She was talking to Liam again, and the group of chasers who had not made it had joined in on their conversation. The group of boys laughed at whatever she had said and one, a sixth year jock named Rory, slung his arm over her shoulders.

This is not good, Draco thought. This girl could very well be the end for Myra's chances at being Princess...and therefore his chances at redeeming his status as Prince. This also meant that Theo could use this girl against him...and then THEO would be Prince. Draco could not let that happen. He either had to get Myra in his bed, or he had to get this girl.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, the two keepers were back. "I caught 3 he caught four." the taller one said before lumbering away_. Good_, thought Draco smugly, _they knew they had no chance._

Natalya (_oh, THAT was her name!)_ was looking at Draco questioningly, eyebrows raised. Draco nodded and motioned to Liam - it was their turn to face off. They were Draco's last chance, and Draco really had one option.

Draco watched Natalya kick off the ground and soar into the sky. His heart sank. This girl was good.

Draco didn't know if it was the strange broomstick she flew, or just her innate skill that made her look like she didn't even have a broom below her.

Liam was a decent flyer, better than some, but not as good as Potter and most definitely not as good as Draco (if he did say so his self). The chasers shot on Liam first. Draco was surprised as he caught the first five easily; he was rather good at keeper. Liam missed the sixth one; he had drifted to the left, leaving the right goal open for Chaz to put the ball through. He caught the next three, almost dropping one. Draco cringed as the last one went through Liam's outstretched arms; he had only caught eight.

Draco waited with bated breath as the chasers flew towards Natalya. She caught 1...2...3...4...5...(_oh crap_)...6...7...and finally 8. Draco was shocked. She was fantastic, those quaffles didn't stand a chance against her.

He couldn't let a girl on the team. He wouldn't be the one to break tradition...he wouldn't! _But she's so good_, the back of his head retorted. _OH SHUT UP BACK THERE!_ he yelled at himself.

As Liam and Natalya landed and walked towards him, Draco knew he'd have to make a hard decision. But he wasn't going to be the one to betray his house.

"I caught-" Liam began, but Draco interrupted him.

"Liam you're keeper." Draco stated blunted, trying to ignore the flash of red that went through Natalya's eyes.

"No Draco, I can't be. Natalya's better than me, she should be keeper." he protested, jogging to keep up with Draco as he strode purposely towards the rest of the team. "If she's not keeper then I'll resign. Then you'll have to choose her."

Draco stopped dead in his tracks, cold fury in his eyes. "Don't you tell me how to run my team, Winters!" he spat. "You're on the team no matter if you like it or not. That's my decision. Unless you want a month's worth of living Hell I'd shut the fuck up." with that Draco turned around and stalked over to his team.

Draco was quite surprised that Liam had challenged his decision; maybe Draco had gone a bit lenient on his follower's loyalties. Either that or his status was really falling..._well_, Draco thought, _we'll soon fix that_. He was also quite surprised that Natalya hadn't flown into a rage, she seemed like the type of girl who would. All he had seen was red in her eyes, and that could've easily been a trick of the light.

Draco reached the cluster of his chasers and beaters, which really was only five guys. He opened his mouth to speak.

"I challenge you." a quiet voice came from behind him. Draco spun around, again, to see Natalya glaring coldly at him, but with a mischievous smirk on her lips.

"What?" Draco asked callously, trying not to gulp at the expression on her face.

"I challenge you. Match of Seeker's Game. Best two out of three." she answered.

"The stakes?" Draco countered back. The rest of the team seemed to fade into less importance than the girl before him.

She smiled widely, making Draco gulp. "If I win I get a place on your team." she said simply.

"And if I win. What do I get out of this?" Draco asked with a leer.

Natalya crossed her arms. "Anything you want." she answered, eyebrows arched, seductive leer in place.

Draco thought a moment, until his eyes landed on her broomstick. "Let me see your broomstick." he told her. She handed it over. It was an unfamiliar make to Draco, and had no name or number on it. It was perfectly balanced and seemed to hum with its own magic. "Where'd you get that?" Draco asked her, handing back the broom.

"I made it." she answered, smirking at the look of shock that flitted over Draco's face. "My own design and make. It's the fastest racing broom in Britain. Even faster than the Firebolt." she said, indicating the broom that Draco had.

"I win, and you make the whole team the fastest racing brooms in Britain. At no cost." Draco told her, a wide smirk on his mouth.

Natalya smile mischievously back and nodded. "It's a deal." she said, sticking out her hand. The shook on it and silver-blue sparks seemed to dance around their hands. "It's done."

Goyle released the snitch and Natalya and Draco waited, giving it a head start. They mounted their brooms, waiting for Goyle's call to go. At the blow of the whistle they were off. They both hovered in the air, scanning for the snitch. Out of the corner of his eye Draco saw Natalya go into a sharp dive. He followed her, quickly closing the distance between them. Right before she would have hit the ground, Natalya twisted upwards and spun around, picking the snitch deftly out of the air ten feet above where Draco had leveled out before smashing into the ground.

"And that's one!" Natalya called to him in a sing-song voice. _DAMN IT!_ Draco thought.

They returned to the ground, releasing the snitch, and once again waiting for it to flit away. Soon enough they were both in the air. Natalya was circling around, with Draco watching her and looking out for the snitch at the same time. Suddenly Malfoy saw it, fluttering about 200 feet off the ground, the Golden Snitch. Like a shot he was after it, and soon enough he could hear the tell-tale whistle as Natalya came after him, gaining speed.

They were neck and neck, when suddenly the Snitch was gone. Draco decelerated, looking around frantically for it. Natalya hovered at the same speed, both of them scanning the field for the golden sphere. Draco was a bit ahead of Natalya now; she had somehow dropped behind him. Draco saw her regain speed and she was soon hovering next to him. "Well what now?" Draco asked grudgingly. "The Snitch is gone."

"Now." she answered. "I win." and to Draco's surprise and horror she leapt off her broom. She twisted over him, and as she fell below him Draco saw her snatch the Snitch from where it had been fluttering just below his foot. He was worried that she was going to fall to her death and personally he didn't care if she did, but then again it WOULD ruin his reputation if a student died during HIS Quidditch tryouts. She flipped a few times through the air before landing daintily on her broom, which had come to hover beneath her.

There was irrupting applause from below them at the completion of that stunt and Natalya looked at Draco, grinning. She cocked an eyebrow at him, "Can't you admit you're impressed?" she asked.

"I've seen better." Draco retorted as they flew down to land.

Natalya snorted at the idea. "So, your side of the deal?" she asked, crossing her arms and grinning.

"You can be a sub, practice with us, fill in when someone can't play." Draco answered coldly. No one made Draco Malfoy look like a looser and got away with it unscathed. NO ONE! His father would certainly be hearing about this.

"You bastard!" she spat. "You said a spot on the team!"

"Don't you go impeding on my honor you filthy half-blood! You're the one who didn't specify what spot or the terms of our agreement." he barked, eyes blazing with anger.

"I won't be making that mistake again." She answered coldly, before stalking off to the locker rooms.

Draco just shrugged to the rest of his team and motioned for them to follow him to the locker rooms. They laughed on the way there, Chaz, Blaise, and Nicoló reminiscing about whatever had happened up in the sky. Liam stayed subdued, alone with his own thoughts, while Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle discussed the looks of the team and their chances of finally winning the Quidditch Cup.

When they got to the locker rooms the door was locked. Draco pounded on the door, but there was no reply. He and Liam tried every unlocking charm they knew, but none would open the door. To the accompaniment of much groaning, Draco announced that they had better just go up to the school and change and shower there, lest they be late for dinner.

Liam opted to stay behind, saying that SOMEONE had better show Natalya how to get back to the school.

Draco shrugged and left, the rest of the boys following close by their leader. Liam waited until they had gone into the school before he started pounding on the door. "Natalya!" he shouted, "Open the door! It's Liam! I need to talk to you!" there was no answer and the door remained locked. He banged his head against the door and sank to his knees in despair. He should have known it was useless-that girl would hate him till the end of his days.

Liam buried his head in his hands and...felt the door come ajar? _What?_ He thought. Not questioning it, Liam walked in. He could hear water running. Sitting down awkwardly on the bench just outside the shower area, Liam waited. It was a while until Natalya stepped out, towel wrapped around her, hair still wet.

Liam gasped at the sight of her. "Oh!" she gasped, "I didn't know you were in here." then she disappeared back behind the wall. She appeared again, dressed in black sweatpants and, to Liam's surprise, a neon green sports bra. "Sorry." she said to Liam, "The rest of my clothes got wet, didn't know that shower could spray that far." she laughed, eyes glowing.

Liam watched in awe as her eyes slowly changed from red to golden brown. "Wha-" he breathed, staring at her. She laughed again, _like the tinkling of bells_, Liam thought.

"Yeah that sometimes happens. I didn't really want everyone to see me with black-red eyes, so I ran in here. Anyways," she said, quickly changing the subject, "When's dinner? I'm starving."

Liam laughed despite himself, when she wasn't being arrogant or angry she was quite cute. "Right now actually." He answered her. She nodded happily and got back up, going towards the doors. "Hold on there." Liam said. "You can't go into there looking like that!"

Natalya pouted at him. "And why not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well-well-because um...everyone will see you like that! You'll get in a lot of trouble!" he responded, thinking quickly. _Not to mention I want to keep this picture of you all to myself_, he added mentally.

"Oh the teachers don't scare me!" she said, smirking at him. "However I guess it would be better if no one else saw this." she turned, looking through her things. Liam noticed the long purple scar that was slashed through her stomach; it had been covered by shadows before. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed happily. "Here's something dry!" she put on a lime green t-shirt that was about three sizes too large. Quickly, she knotted her hair in a braid and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Come-on let's go." she said, and the two made their way into the school

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Preview:<strong>

**As they glared on, Potter's cheeks turned red. Draco glanced up. Sure enough who could be strolling down the halls but the Italian god himself, Blaise Zabini.**


	9. Chapter 8: Serpent Kisses in the Dark

**YAY! So this took me WAY too long to update. I've just been lazy so I guess it's pretty much my fault.**

**Anyways...THANKS SO MUCH to crazed-slash-fan for yet again reviewing! I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! **

**Also...I apologize for the Mary-Sueishness that will probably be appearing in this and the next chapter...I was just reading them over again and Natalya does seem to be WAY to awesome to be humanly possible, but alas I really don't want to re-write these chapters because I really like them...especially Chapter 9 *tehehe* so be warned about her suposedly perfectness and I promise that there are great explanations for her multiple great attributes more than the fact that I just like her that way :) so yeah...**

**WARNING: Yup it's still SLASH...although yet again very mild...though that shall be resolved in short time in Chapter 9...which as you will be able to tell by its title once it's posted is very inapropriately slash-ful :) **

**DISCLAIMER: Nope I still don't own Harry Potter, Voldemort in a hot and sexy body, evil plots, schemes, other random evil things, snakes, parseltongue (although I really wish I could speak it cuz that would be so cool!), Slytherin house meetings, Masquerade Balls, and sadly I do not own Draco Malfoy although if he were for sale I totally would. Nor do I own in father :(**

**also I'm sorry about the creepyness at the end...It's really strange and rather disturbing...but it had to happen because one very important fact had to be known...it's very important...so I apologize in advance and hopefully those few of you reading this absurd thing don't absolutely hate it because I already have the next three chapters written and I really want to get to the end of this...**

**So without more blabbering from me...PLEASE ENJOY :D oh and REVIEW! I LOVE REVIEWS! and then I'll love YOU! and everyone will be HAPPY! Expecially me...SO REVIEW! I DON'T CARE WHAT IT'S ABOUT! you could even just tell me the weather in wherever you live and I really couldn't care because it's still a review so I'd still be insanely happy and bouncing around my house...so yeah.**

**ENJOY :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8- Serpent Kisses In the Dark<strong>

It wasn't until that Friday that the Slytherins had potions again. Draco had seen Natalya sporadically, she was in most of his classes, but never sat very close to him. At meal times she seemed to disappear, or she came and left within a matter of minutes.

Draco trudged down the corridor to the dungeons, loyal bodyguards in tow. Since that Wednesday his life had been Hell. The nightmares were back and worse than before. The only decent thing that had happened this week had been when he went to Dumbledore with his plea.

The Headmaster had gladly granted him the last single bedroom in Slytherin tower, and now at least his dorm mates would be sleeping soundly even if Draco would not. He was very pleased with his new accommodations; they were spacious, everything clothed in glorious shades of green, he had a black four poster bed, and even his own bathroom that adjoined his room. The only strange part was the door that seemed to connect his room and the room next to it.

On his first day after moving in Draco had tried to open the door, but there was no lock and no handle, just two snakes twisted around themselves, poised to strike. The same snakes were around the door in the hall too, jutting out right where the knob to the door should have been. No noise could be heard from the room either.

But we digress. On this oh so fine Friday afternoon Draco was now standing in front of the doors to the potions room, awaiting the great Professor Snape's arrival. Behind him stood his loyal guards as always, have an incredibly interesting conversation about flobberworms. Behind them stood the golden-trio, who seemed for once to be arguing over something or other. Both the mudblood and soulless-one were glaring at Saint-Potter.

As they glared on, Potter's cheeks turned red. Draco glanced up. Sure enough who could be strolling down the halls but the Italian God himself, Blaise Zabini. Draco smiled to himself; things this year were going as planned.

Snape came striding down the hall, cloaks billowing behind him. He opened the doors with a bang and strode inside without uttering a word. The students scrambled inside meekly, not sure what had prompted his fury.

About ten minutes into the lesson the doors banged open once again. All heads turned towards the intruder. They were greeted by a pair of unearthly glowing eyes shining from the dark backdrop of the dim corridor.

"Thank you for joining us Ms. Hope." Snape said. The girl nodded and strode into the room. Draco almost groaned allowed, she must be stalking him!

"Take the seat next to Mr. Malfoy there." Snape told her. "He will fill you in on today's lesson. Everyone begin."

Smirking, Natalya swaggered over to the spot next to Draco and dropped onto the seat. "So, we meet again." she said, smirking maliciously. Draco ignored her, standing to get the ingredients. She shrugged and turned to smile at Liam. Liam smiled back and was promptly kicked under the table by Theodore Nott.

Draco returned and they got to work in silence. By the end of the hour they had a perfect work of Amortenthia. Unfortunately Draco had to admit that Natalya was a good potions maker, too good in fact. It was quite unnerving really, she barely ever looked at the directions. When the bell rang Draco gathered his stuff quickly and left as fast as he could, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle trotting behind him.

Natalya gathered her stuff slowly, watching the trio across the room slowly packing up as they discussed something important. Snape had disappeared into his office. Liam waited with Nott for her. She shook her head. "Go on without me, there's something I have to do." she told Liam, giving him another melting smile. This prompted Nott to punch him on the arm.

"What!" Liam asked him, but Nott just shrugged and looked innocent. Together the two left, leaving just the trio and Natalya in the classroom.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't even seem to notice her, so deep they were into their conversation. Natalya followed them into the corridor.

"Hey! Harry Potter!" she basically shouted, trotting to catch up to them. The three stopped, blinking at her. Ron, seeing the snake on her robes, narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked accusingly.

"What? Oh nothing, I just-I just wanted to meet and introduce myself to the famous Harry Potter." she said.

"Well Harry doesn't want to know any of you Slytherins, so bugger off!" Ron said. "Come on you guys." he motioned to Harry and Hermione. Hermione turned to follow, but Harry stayed put.

"No Ron. Where's your sense of inter-house unity?" Harry said, standing his ground. He looked Ron strait in the eyes, trying to convey meaning with only his look. Ron did not understand, but Hermione thought she recognized that look in his eyes.

"You're right Harry." Hermione spoke up. "It's a shame the houses don't get along more. We would love to get to know you." the last sentence was directed to Natalya who smiled warmly.

Ron snorted. "Fine, just don't give us any of the pure-blood crap or you'll get it!" He threatened.

"I'm not a pure-blood." Natalya said quietly. Harry turned to look at the girl. Again he felt that buzzing sensation at the back of his head, and his scar began to prickle.

"I'm Harry Potter." he stated matter-of-factly, sticking his hand out. Just like that, the tension was broken. Natalya giggled, taking his hand and shaking it lightly.

"I'm Natalya Hope." she said. "I'm new here and I heard about a certain Harry Potter who I was anxious to meet. It's surprising, you aren't quite as heroic looking as I thought." Harry laughed at this.

"Yeah, a lot of people agree with that." Harry laughed, "But let me tell you a secret. I'm really very strong and tough after fighting the notorious villain Draco Malfoy for years." it was after Harry had uttered the last part that he remembered this was a SLYTHERIN he was talking. _Oh crap!_ He thought, _wrong thing to say._

To Harry's surprise Natalya laughed appreciatively. "So you've had run-ins with him as well?" she asked, as they started walking towards the great Hall. It was getting on towards Dinner time after all, and Ron's stomach was hungry as always.

"Why yes, many actually. Some unpleasant and some downright nasty. He was bearable when he was with this one girl. She was our friend and kept him in line." Harry laughed in remembrance. "Boy I really do miss those days." he sighed "Oh well. So, what run-ins have you had with the Prince of Darkness?" Harry asked her.

Ron and Hermione were talking quietly behind them, shooting looks at Natalya, but she ignored them. She replayed her tragic tryout tail to Harry, who started laughing loudly when she told him about her challenge. "You really did that!" he crowed. "Boy Malfoy would have been pissed! Oh I wish I could've seen that." he said. Natalya grinned.

Ron, sensing the topic of Quidditch, decided to join in. "So, how many goals did you save then?" he asked, ready to compare his fine skills to hers.

"All of them." Natalya said, matter-of-factly. Ron just stared at her.

"A-ALL of them? But how's that possible you must have at least missed one!" Natalya shook her head. "Damn Malfoy's lucky to have you!" Ron growled.

"Oh but he doesn't." Natalya stated. Ron looked up.

"What? What do you mean he doesn't? Of course he does!" Ron exclaimed.

"No he doesn't." she growled angrily. "He didn't put me on the team. You guys had better kick their sorry asses and make them pay, ok?" she said darkly. Ron just looked at her, shocked at Malfoy's stupidity.

They arrived at the Great Hall to the sound of clinking plates emulating from within. Ron and Hermione sat on one side of the table, Harry sat on the other. Natalya stood behind him, uncertain of what to do next. Hostile glances were cast her way from all sides of the Gryffindor table.

"Come on Natalya." Harry said, patting the spot in between him and Seamus, "Don't just stand there, sit." So she did.

A hush of quiet seemed to revolve around her. Everyone seemed to sense there was a predator in their midst. Harry cleared his throat and made introductions. "Everyone this is Natalya, she's new at Hogwarts. Natalya, this is everyone. We're all Gryffindors."

Ginny, Dean, Neville, and Lavender just stared open mouthed at him. Seamus however took it all in stride, slugging one arm over Natalya's shoulder. "So." he asked her, "What's it like in the Snake Pit?"

"Green...very green." she answered. The table erupted in laughter and soon the normal chatter started up again. Seamus kept his arm wrapped around Natalya and was quite pleased when instead of pushing it off she unconsciously leaned into him.

Seeing Ron and Hermione preoccupied with discussing their homework, Harry turned to Natalya. "So." he asked her, "What do you know about Blaise Zabini?"

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Two hours later a very pissed off Draco Malfoy could be found pacing the Slytherin common room with a highly worried and pissed off Blaise Zabini.

_What does she think she's playing at, socializing with Gryffindors? _Draco thought_._

_What is he doing, hanging around Natalya like that? _Blaise thought.

_How could she be so careless?_

_How could he be so heartless?_

_Why did she appear out of nowhere just like that?_

_Why did he betray me like that?_

_My. Life. Sucks._

_:::::::::_

All the Slytherins were in the common room. Draco, Liam, Blaise, and Theo were sprawled onto chairs and couches. Natalya was perched on Liam's chair, leg leaning absentmindedly against his shoulder. The rest of the Slytherins were perched wherever there was room, some laying or sitting on the floor.

Pansy stood before everyone, and they all got silent. The ceremony was about to begin. "Fellow Slytherins!" she shouted, "Welcome to our first house meeting. First off I would like to hold a moment of silence for the greatest serpent of all who is missing among us." here she paused, silence swept throughout the room.

"Next I would like to announce the first Slytherin Prince and Princess competition in three years. On the 30th of November we shall have the final duel between the running Princesses. The Challenging Princes will have already made their bets by then. More information will be given in due time." She paused, motioning for Draco to come up. Myra smiled at him and patted him on the back before he got up and joined Pansy.

"As many of you heard a few weeks ago, our school has taken up a challenge of house unity." there were grumbles all around at the mention of this. "Now I know this seems very foolish. Everyone knows Slytherins and Gryffindors will never get along. However, Dumbledore still expects us Slytherins to take part in this little 'project'." here there were snickers all around.

"Our part of this project was decided upon by Draco and me and approved by Professor Snape. Each and every one of you must write a short essay about yourselves. Not just a description of who you are and what you look like, but who you are at your very heart and soul. You're deepest darkest secrets and wildest dreams." there was silence for a few moments, then chaos broke loose.

Everyone started speaking at once, there were yells about how stupid this was, protests of a dire state, and someone was yelling about the influence of Hufflepuffs.

Draco help up a hand and slowly quiet reigned again. It was with satisfaction that Draco still saw he had a decent amount of power.

"As I was saying." Pansy continued, shooting Draco a grateful look. "These essays will be read starting Halloween night. Every Friday after that two will be read. Each other house will vote for who they think the writer is. If they guess right they will be awarded 50 points. If no house guesses correctly Slytherin is awarded 150 points." there was much cheering at this.

Blaise spoke up his doubts. "What about handwriting? Won't they be able to tell?" Pansy smiled, of course that WOULD be his concern, and she had already thought up a solution to that problem.

"Professor Snape is going to charm each essay. The handwriting will all look the same." she answered him smiling.

Chaz spoke up from his spot, basically sprawled in Theodore's lap. "How will you know if what we say is true? Can't we just make stuff up to gain house points?" he asked her, sneering.

She sneered back, already having an answer to that one too. "First off you'll have to own up to it in front of everyone. Second," she motioned to Natalya to come up, "Natalya here just so happens to know basically everything about everyone. And she has a very nasty punishment for anyone who lies." Natalya grinned at this. No one had any doubt in their mind that whatever the punishment was it would be terrible.

Although she had only been in the Slytherin dorms for a little over a week she'd already made quite a reputation for herself. It was common knowledge that she knew EVERYTHING about everyone, even their deepest darkest secrets.

Everyone nodded their consent to this fact; it would be deadly not to. "What if we don't write it? I mean what's the point?" Theodore asked.

Pansy leered at him. It was Draco who had the answer to this one. "It's about who Slytherin is. Yes, we like our reputation as self-centered ambitious bastards, but that's not going to help is get into the hearts of goody-two-shoes Gryffindors. This is all about taking down our masks, showing the school that we truly are better than them." he answered, staring down Nott.

Nott stared back, sneering at Draco. "But what if we don't write it, how will you know?" he challenged Draco.

Here Pansy spoke up again, coming to Draco's rescue. "Simple." she took up her wand and twirled it through the air. A box with an opening at the top appeared out of the air and dropped onto the table before her. "You place your essays in here. Natalya is going to enchant it to track who placed their's in. And believe me, we'll KNOW if anyone doesn't turn it in Theo. And there'll be quite a surprise to those who think they can get away with it. All of them had better be done by October 29th at Midnight, or everyone will know." She said, grinning maliciously at Natalya, who grinned back.

"What about our ball theme?" Liam shouted out, looking at Natalya.

"Well," Draco answered, luckily Pansy HAD told him about this part, "Since our basic house theme is the masks that people wear, we are having a masquerade Ball." there were snorts of laughter and Draco looked disapprovingly at those responsible, who automatically fell quiet. "This will not be a dance for dress-robes. Men will be expected to wear tuxes and masks, and Ladies WILL wear ball gowns. The more elegant you look the better." there again were titters of giggles from some of the girls.

Pansy butted in, "There will be no indication of house on you. Dance partners will change during the night, based on a request system. You may not reject a request to dance. At midnight the masks will come off and your final dance partner will be revealed."

To Draco's surprise there were appreciative murmurs at this. Secrecy, that was something Slytherins understood.

The meeting was over for that week. Slowly, students drifted up to their rooms. Draco saw Pansy and Goyle disappear up to the tower where Pansy's room was. Sometimes he wondered just what was going on with those two.

Myra came over to the couch where Draco had sprawled down and sat, snuggling into him. Wrapping one arm around her shoulders, Draco sat, watching the others in the common room.

He saw Nott pulling Chaz up to their room. Natalya had predicted four days ago that those two were fucking, and by now it was common knowledge.

"Whatcha thinking about Dray?" Myra asked him, looking into his grey eyes.

"Everything, nothing." he replied .

"Always the cryptic one aren't you?" she asked, laughing. Draco smiled at her.

"It's just hard to explain." he tipped his head towards Natalya. "She in your dorm then?"

Myra shook her head. "What do you care?" she asked pouting.

Draco laughed. "Nothing." he said, "Just worried about you being alone in a room with something as dangerous as that." Myra nodded and snuggled deeper into his side. They sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

:::::::::

Natalya sat with Liam, leaning her head on his shoulder. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, the other was playing gently with her hair. Natalya watched Draco quietly as he talked to Myra.

"Liam?" she asked. His hand in her hair stopped.

"Yeah?" he asked quietly.

"What happened? To the girl Draco was with before. What happened to her?" she whispered.

"Well," Liam started, stroking her hair again. "No one really knows the answer to that. No one besides Draco and Potter. And her of course, but it's too late for her to tell us that now. All I know is something happened and now she's dead. And with her the hope of winning the war against Voldemort."

"But what about Potter? Won't he kill the Dark Lord?" she asked.

"Well yes, I guess he will, but that won't win us the war. It takes more than killing the leader. It'll take more than a killing curse to destroy Voldemort." he responded quietly.

"So your family doesn't support the Dark Lord?" Natalya asked.

"We've always stayed neutral in this business. They didn't openly support Voldemort because Nellie, the girl Draco was with, was still alive and they thought that with her, Potter, Dumbledore, and the Order of the Phoenix Voldemort stood no chance. Right now though, they aren't sure. What about your family?" he explained.

"I don't have a family." Natalya said quietly. "My parents died a long time ago, and I haven't thought about what side to chose. I guess I'll just do what I've always done. Survive."

Liam nodded and they fell silent, Liam thinking about her answer, Natalya thinking about how he didn't actually answer her question.

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Natalya went up to her room at the top of the tower quietly, pausing outside of Malfoy's. There was silence coming from his room. She smiled dangerously as she thought about the screams that would great her in the morning. Those wonderful screams.

Outside her room, she placed her hand on the snake heads. With a whisper of words they un-twisted their heads and snaked up her arm, curling around her wrist. The door swung open and she stepped in, the snakes slinking off her wrist.

"Hesh-as-saheth nas-entha-as. Casasha-neth-ana resan-a-heth. Go my pretties." she hissed. The snakes hissed back and slithered onto the door.

The room was dark, the only light coming in the window from the shining moon. Standing in a pool of moonlight, Natalya breathed deeply and her appearance changed. Her hair shined silver, as did her eyes, which still glowed with an unearthly light.

Sighing, she snapped her fingers and flames erupted in the brackets along the walls of the room. Illuminated by the light was a black four-poster bed and a giant dark trunk. Along one wall sat a cauldron surrounded by an assortment of potions paraphernalia.

With another sigh she fell back onto her bed, looking at the moon. Tears dripped down her face as she gazed at the picture besides her bed. The couple in it was happy, smiling as they twirled about each other to the tune of a waltz. How much things had changed since that was taken, although it had been little more than a year earlier.

Staring up at the canopy above her bed, Natalya closed her eyes and lay still. A small POP! sounded in the room and still she did not open them, nor did she make a move to get up.

"What do you want?" she asked the intruder snappishly.

"Just a moment of your time my love." the intruder replied, bowing graciously although Natalya could not see him.

"You have none of my time, Tom. Now go away, I have already given you enough of that." she said coldly, eyes still closed.

"How many times have I told you to call me Voldemort, Nellie? Or at least My Lord or something like that." The intruder snapped, sounding irritated.

Natalya laughed softly. "Oh but you will always be Tom to me, my lord," she said mockingly. Only then did she make a move, sitting up slowly, watching the man before her watching her body intensely. "How'd you get in here anyway?" she asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"That's all I get?" he asked sulkily, "No 'Oh Voldemort I've missed you so much', no 'How I worried about you so My Lord!'. I could have been dead for all you knew!"

Natalya laughed. "I would've known if you were dead. And you didn't answer my question. How'd you get in here?" she asked.

"I apperated of course." Voldemort sulked.

"Wait." Natalya said, rolling so her legs were hanging off the bed. "If you can apperate into my room then why don't you just walk out the door and kill Harry Potter?"

"What do you want me to get killed?" Voldemort said, appalled. "Your wards make this room neutral ground. They still don't protect me from the wards of Hogwarts, which would destroy me in an instant if I ventured one finger out of this room. And though I may not die, I quite like my body now." he answered.

Natalya already knew this of course; she just liked seeing Voldy all flustered. "You are looking quite fine my lord. Course that's no thanks to you now is it?" she drawled, arching her eyebrows and smirking widely.

Voldemort just looked at her in disgust. "You really are despicable." he told her. She just smiled back, waggling her eyebrows. "But I must admit you did a fine job. I look just as hot as I did back at Hogwarts. I was the reigning Slytherin sex God back then you know." he told her, leering.

Smirking, she leisurely drew her gaze up his body, lingering for far too long on his crotch before moving on to his solid abs. "Course I know that Tom, that was when I met you you know. And you're still as childish as you were then too." she said. Voldemort looked at her, pouting. "Awww, and now you're pouting too, what's next, you go into a jealous rage?" she said, eyes twinkling. "You do look quite good My Lord, although Harry Potter does look better." she said, waiting for the reaction.

"WHAT!" Voldemort yelled, making Natalya quite glad about the silencing charm she had put up. "That brat beat me at ANOTHER thing! What, is he now going to shag someone silly too?" Voldemort ranted.

"Yah probably." Natalya said, smiling wickedly. "I mean he IS great in bed..." she drifted off, smirking to herself as Voldemort's face turned red.

"You take that back!" Voldemort growled, advancing at her, wand drawn threateningly.

"Watcha gonna do Tom? Cuddle me to death? Or OH I know, the Cruciartus curse. Oh I'm so scared!" she said in mock fright, still grinning.

"No Nellie. Now I'm going to have to prove I'm a MUCH better shag then Potter ever was." he growled, advancing further.

"Um, I'm known as Natalya now Tom." Natalya said, backing up until her legs hit the bed. She gulped, in anticipation or fear she couldn't yet tell.

"Oh no, Nellie." Voldemort whispered dangerously in her ear. "You will always be Nellie to me." With that he took one more step, causing Natalya (Nellie) to fall on her back on the bed.

Voldemort grabbed her arms, pinning them above her head, as his face hovered inches from hers.

"Watcha gonna do Tom?" Natalya whispered, sneering up at him while her heart beat faster.

"I'm going to make you scream." he said. "I'm going to make you beg for it to be over." he face got closer to hers. "I'm going to shag your fucking brains out." he breathed.

Natalya lifted her head up.

Their lips met.

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><p><strong>NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW! :<strong>

**Spotting Harry over the other Slytherin's shoulder, who had entered with his back to Harry and had yet to turn around, the blond one made an excuse about leaving his hair-gel in their room and scrambled back out the door.**

**The dark-haired Slytherin muttered something about "But I have your hair gel.", but the blond one was already long gone. Without looking in the bubbled-filled tub, the Slytherin, yes it's obviously Blaise Zabini, took off his shirt.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Prowess of Harry Potter

**YAY FINALLY ANOTHER CHAPTER! I'm so so so so very sorry it took this long, but school doesn't wait for fanfictions to be updated. **

**Hopefully though I'll be updating regularely , or at least more so than now, come June because then school will be OVER! YAY! I'm excited.**

**Anyways...unfortunately this chapter really isn't very long...but I think it's long enough plus the next few chapters are longer...and exciting stuff actually happens!**

**Many thanks as always for crazed-slash-fan for being my sole reviewer! YOU ARE INCREDIBLY AWESOME! and as for your concerns about Natalya unfortunately you'll just have to wait and see, but I think that you'll like how it turns out...it's all very confusing though. I'm not sure if I've really figured it all out yet :P Also the beginning of this is very Blaise/Harry-full...although it does get very M rated...I apologize if you do not like it. **

**Which by the way, if you do not like guyXguy stuff then you may not like to read the beginning section of this...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! **

**DISCLAIMER: Nope I still don't own Harry Potter nor am I J.K. Rowling...although I will excuse you if you got us mixed up. Also I do not own Fay or any other awesome magical creature like them, nor do I own a swimming pool sized bathtub. However I really wish I did.**

**WARNING: Yup this is still slash...in fact this is a VERY SLASHFUL chapter...especially the beginning. The beginning makes it deserve its M rating. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED A SECOND TIME! **

**So please ENJOY! and REVIEW! they make me utterly and completely happy! and perhaps then I shall finally update in a timely manner... **

**Enjoy! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Prowess of Harry Potter<strong>

A couple weeks later Harry awoke to a fine Saturday morning. Feeling in an exceptionally wonderful mood, and since it was a Saturday, Harry decided to let the other boys in his dorm sleep in.

To complete his wonderful mood, Harry decided to take a nice long bath in the Prefects Bathroom. This time, however, he would remember his wand just in case of potential run-ins with blonde Slytherins.

Harry got down to the bathroom without seeing anyone and he happily filled the tub with his favorite scent and bubbles. It had come to no surprise when Harry had realized that his favorite scent just so happened to be exactly what Blaise Zabini smelled like. Harry was now used to such things that seemed to revolve around said Slytherin, and he didn't really mind now.

Harry sunk into the warm bathwater with a contented sigh. _This was nice_ he thought, no _inappropriate thoughts like the ones that had greeted him the last time he had wanted a bath_. He hadn't even had any erotic dreams last night that had left him unsatisfied. Everything was perfect.

Of course, after a teenage boy-wizard thinks that things are bound to go wrong. Fate presented itself as the door opening and two Slytherins walking in. Spotting Harry over the other Slytherin's shoulder, who had entered with his back to Harry and had yet to turn around, the blonde one made an excuse about leaving his hair-gel in their room and scrambled back out the door.

The dark-haired Slytherin muttered something about "But I have your hair gel.", but the blonde one was already long gone. Without looking in the bubbled-filled tub, the Slytherin, yes it's obviously Blaise Zabini, took off his shirt.

Now Harry, who until recently used to believe he was straight as an arrow, could normally tolerate seeing another male's chest without any reaction. But most of those guys weren't Blaise Zabini.

Fate, hating Harry so much, now decided to have said Blaise Zabini take his pants off, leaving on only boxers. And not just any boxers, but black SILK boxers.

Harry thought it very obvious that Zabini had not noticed that he was in the tub, so he decided to make his presence known. He cleared his throat loudly. Blaise did not react, which seemed quite odd to our young Harry.

Now Blaise, who DID in fact know that Harry was there this WHOLE time, turned around. Not only did Blaise turn around, but he turned around SEXILY. A Blaise Zabini turning any way is too much for a Harry Potter to handle, let alone a Blaise Zabini turning sexily. To Harry's despair he now had a raging hard on, but of course he could not do anything about it because of the Slytherin standing feet away from him.

After turning around sexily Blaise made his way over to the tub and slipped under the bubbles. Seconds later his head popped up above the bubbles and his wet boxers now lay by the side of the tub, which was more like a swimming pool.

Harry was contemplating either A-running away for dear life or B-letting matters take their course. Surprisingly Harry chose option B and stayed under the water. It wouldn't be pleasant if Blaise saw him running away with THIS big of an erection.

A few seconds later though and Harry was again contemplating getting the hell away from there. You see, something had touched him. Yes, it did feel great and wonderful. Yes, he wanted more, but he sure as heck didn't know who or what the heck it was.

Then Blaise rose from the water, inches away from him. He was smiling as he continued to stroke Harry, making the teen gasp and close his eyes in sheer pleasure.

"You like that don't you Harry?" Blaise asked, adding another hand. He took Harry's ragged breathing and thrusting hips as a yes. Blaise grinned, saying, "You're going to like this SO much." before he sank back into the water.

Harry hadn't fully registered where exactly Blaise had gone when something warm and wet enveloped him. Struggling not to thrust down Blaise's throat Harry moaned aloud, the sound echoing throughout the empty bathroom.

Suddenly Harry felt a different sensation and Blaise's finger hit a spot that sparked pleasure through Harry. Harry didn't think anything could be as good as what Blaise just did until Blaise did the same thing, with two fingers this time. Then Blaise replaced his mouth and other hand and Harry was lost in the sheer bliss of it all.

It wasn't long until Harry was gasping, on the verge of coming. Blaise, noticing his frantic thrusts, added another finger and hit that one spot until Harry came, fast and hard.

Feeling drained, Harry looked around the tub. The bubbles had dissipated and Harry couldn't see Blaise anywhere in the water.

Then Harry woke up.

"DAMN IT!" Harry swore, punching his pillow. This was happening more and more often, but this had been the most vivid dream yet. A week ago Ron had heard him moaning in his sleep and was worried that Harry was having nightmares again. Since then Harry had made sure to seal off and silence his bed before he went to sleep.

Tomorrow was going to be their first Hogsmead weekend. Harry made the decision that tomorrow he would finish this problem once and for all. Even if it killed him, _which_, he thought, _it probably will_.

:::::::::

Far away, in a very similar dorm, just clothed in green, Blaise Zabini was having a similar problem. Now, Blaise rarely dreamed, but when he did dream it was very, very vivid. Blaise had just had the same exact dream as Harry, just with positions reversed. Then Blaise woke up and it was all over.

Going over the details of the dream, Blaise decided that it had to mean something. _Tomorrow_, he told himself, _tomorrow it will all end. Tomorrow I will solve this Potter problem once and for all, even if Harry kills me, which he probably will._

:::::::::

That morning the whole of Slytherin tower awoke to the sounds of shrill screams. Seconds after these screams started Myra Potter could be seen running down the stairs into the common room shouting about beds bursting into flame, laughing roommates, how she "won't spend another night with those monsters even if she has to sleep outside!", and how she was "Going straight to Dumbledore about this!". Then she ran out the door and left.

About two minutes later more screams, much manlier screams this time, came from the seventh year boy's dorms. Out ran Crabbe and Goyle with Liam, Theo, and surprisingly Chaz on their heels. After them ran a giant black night-cat with shining brown eyes.

Seeing its audience the cat, well more like a panther, licked its paw and began to wash itself. Slowly it began to change shape until the form of Blaise was sitting on the ground, fixing his hair.

"Oooopps!" he exclaimed. "Sorry about that you guys. Forgot to take my potion last night." he said, grinning at his dorm mates. "By the way," his grin got wider, "You guys scream like girls."

With a very manly yell the four boys ran at Blaise who scrambled to get away, making a dash for the common room entrance. All five boys running at head-long speed disappeared through the stone wall.

"Morning everyone!" Pansy said. The common room burst into laughter as everyone went back to their rooms to get ready for the day.

:::::::::

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk when Myra banged into his office, yelling about burning beds and lemon drops. Dumbledore sat, eyes twinkling as she ranted on, waiting for a break in her steady stream of words. That break never came.

"And THAT'S why I need my own room headmaster." she finished, looking at Dumbledore. Dumbledore just sat there, eyes twinkling maddeningly at her. "Um, please?" she forced out.

"Why Ms. Potter I do believe that can be arranged, however we may have a few predicaments. You see there are no single bedrooms left in Slytherin tower; I just gave the last one to a young Mr. Malfoy. Now Ms. Parkinson needs her own room, as does Ms. Hope. However, if you do not mind waking in the middle of the night due to nightmare-ish screams then I do believe you can room with Mr. Malfoy. Is that satisfactory to you?" Dumbledore asked.

"As long as my bed's not on fire." Myra said sulkily.

"Perfect!" Dumbledore exclaimed happily. "Your bed will be moved in by tonight. Good-day Ms. Potter."

Seeing that she was being excused, Myra hurried out of his office, giving the giant red bird a strange look.

"Do you think that's wise, headmaster?" Snape asked, coming to stand just behind Dumbledore.

"No." Dumbledore replied. "Nothing is wise when it comes to that girl. However, Mr. Malfoy should be able to take care of her."

"But what about Nellie?" Snape asked, placing a hand on Dumbledore's chair. "It's dangerous. What if she kills Myra? Or worse yet, Draco?"

"Death will soon come to Ms. Potter whether we do anything or not, and it is for the best. Nellie will not kill Mr. Malfoy, that is not in her plan." Dumbledore said cryptically, summoning his pencieve.

"But what about-" Snape began.

"Do not worry Severus; all is as it should be." Dumbledore said, taking his wand and putting it to his temple.

The silvery strands of memory dropped down into the bowl. The image of a girl with silver hair rose out of the pensive, before slowly sinking back down.

:::::::::

Draco hated Friday mornings. Now mind you he had no problem with Fridays in general and he quite enjoyed Friday afternoons. There was no doubt in Draco's mind that the main reason for his hatred was due to a bumbling oaf of a half-giant.

So here Draco was trudging through the grounds of Hogwarts down to the oaf's shack of a house. His trusted side-kicks were in the hospital wing, both being sorted out for various hex-induced injuries. Blaise was walking slowly behind him, sulking about the episode that morning.

Down by the oaf's house Draco could see the Gryffindor gaggle talking to the half-giant himself.

Draco stood at the back of the group as class started. "Today's lesson will be about Fay." Hagrid boomed over the students. "Now who can tell me what the Fay are?" he asked.

To everyone's surprise it wasn't Hermione's hand that shot up first. It was a short girl who stood in the middle of the pack. Draco saw a flash of light brown hair and groaned. Of course SHE just had to be there, what else could make this class any better?

"Yes Ms. Hope?" Hagrid asked.

"The Fay are a race of magical beings who defy all of what's known about magical creatures. They aren't exactly animals, but they aren't human either. They can however bread with humans, which are the majority of their mates, besides other Fay. Not much is known about the Fay, except by their own." She finished, turning a shade of pink. There were appreciative murmurs all around as people turned to stare at her.

"Very good." Hagrid said, surprised. "Today we are honored to have a full-blooded Fay with us. Fay can change form and are only recognizable by the strong magic that surrounds them." Hagrid explained.

From behind Hagrid appeared a creature that looked like a medium sized Sprite.

It was male and about 8 inches tall. He wore a silvery-blue cloak and had delicate translucent wings. Fluttering in the air, the whole class watched as he drifted over to land lightly on Natalya's shoulder.

"Looks like he likes you." Hagrid said. "Does anyone know anything else about the Fay?" he asked. There was silence from the class, not even Hermione spoke.

"Besides shape shifting some Fay can tell the future." Natalya spoke. The Fay fluttered off her shoulder and hovered in the air before her. "There are not many Fay left, since the Purge of 1892. The ministry killed all creatures who they thought were Fay, including the children of the Fay." she paused, starring at the magnificent creature before her. "They do not normally meddle in the lives of wizards. They rarely mate with magical creatures, their magic is too powerful. There have been cases of them mating with Veela, and even Seraphim. There was one case over fifty years ago of a Fay mating with a Siren, the daughter of Neptune, but they were murdered shortly after. The Fay have their own language, known only to the Fay and their children." she finished.

Hagrid stared at her in awe. "V-very good. T-twenty points to Slytherin." The students gasped, Hagrid has never given points to SLYTHERIN before!

"How do you know all this?" Hagrid asked her. "The Fay are very secretive, not even Fay experts know that much."

Natalya smiled. "My father was a Fay." she said simply. The Fay landed on her outstretched hand. From it came a deep voice, speaking words no one save Natalya could understand.

"Ranalda cus nialda. Carin venia rask nal. Casuna dusk nalda fenthar lunia push." he spoke.

Natalya laughed. "Cush nootha belass nalda. Fenthala dusk realda. Nuskana cu penska." she replied. The rest of the class gasped. She was speaking to it!

The Fay replied, making Natalya laugh again. "I don't think that would be the best idea." she warned.

The Fay nodded and spoke more, gesturing wildly. "If you're sure." Natalya said. Looking at Hagrid she spoke, a smile on her lips. "He wonders if he could get the boy with the glasses and the dark haired and skinned one to stand next to each other."

Hagrid nodded and motioned to Harry and Blaise. Eyeing each other, Harry and Blaise met in the middle of the group of students. "Hello Potter." Blaise breathed over Harry's ear again.

After shivering slightly Harry hissed, "Sod off Zabini." which rewarded him with a smile from Blaise and a hiss of "gladly".

The Fay drifted over from Natalya to where the boys stood, shoulders almost touching. He hovered over the two boys' heads and looked over at Natalya. "Dentha ricas niva caru bentha na?" he asked her.

"Kinta denth yana biran nath toonka. Siva ra ni." she replied seriously.

"Citha tusina seana un tis?" The Fay asked, gesturing between the two boys.

"Yes I can see it." She replied nodding. "It's the strongest I've seen."

The Fay spoke again, asking her a question. "Rinda sinth ginther rental naku. Finth entus koputha rees." she replied.

The Fay laughed and began to glow brightly. "NIKUTH RALA NA KETH ARA!" he shouted. Blue sparks began to swirl around Harry and Blaise as the Fay went on. "KINAS DA GUTH RIPOTHEL NA MINA TUS INGUS!" he bellowed before disappearing with a blinding flash of light and echoes of laughter.

Murmurs broke out between the students as the smoke and sparks around Harry and Blaise cleared. They looked perfectly safe and sound, nothing was different.

"What was that about?" Hagrid bellowed, clearing to get to the two boys. He looked over at Natalya for an answer. She just shrugged and began to walk away, the bell had just wrung.

"No idea." she said. The smirk and knowing look in her eyes said otherwise.

:::::::::

Exhausted after a deceptively hard potions class, wherein Natalya saved him from making countless errors, Draco trudged up to his room, ready to rest. Opening the door Draco stepped inside and yelped. Instead of his normal King-sized bed there were now two twin-sized beds. And of course on one bed lay Myra Potter.

"Hey Draco." she said, flipping a page of her book.

"W-what, what are you, how, why are you here?" Draco stuttered. _Oh yeah real smooth lover-boy_, he thought.

"Dumbledore put me in here. I refused to be in the same dorm as those other girls and there were no single-rooms left. He told me to room with you." she answered, smiling up at him.

"Wow." Draco said smiling. He closed the door to the room and stepped inside, dropping his bad on the ground. He lay on the bed, turning to look towards Myra.

"Yeah." she said, "It's pretty awesome." she looked up from her book to leer at Malfoy.

"It's a wonder that old coot would allow this. Does he not expect us to get into mischief with these arrangements?" he asked, leering back at her.

"Well," Myra replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "More like he knew there would be no mischief. After all," she added smirking, "I could resist anything you tried on me."

"Oh really?" Draco asked, arching his eyebrows. "Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe it is." Myra said, raising an eyebrow. She lifted up from where she was laying and went over to Draco's bed. "And maybe it isn't." she whispered, crawling up his bed until she was directly over Draco. "I bet you can't resist." she whispered before lowering her head till their lips met.

Draco knew he must resist, he must not soften under those lips, he must not give in, he must not... But the kiss was unbelievable, not wet or hard, totally perfect. Draco felt himself giving in, softening under those lips, letting the probing tongue gain access to his mouth.

Myra pulled away, grinning. "What was that you were saying?" she asked.

Draco rolled over so that now he was above her. "But can you resist me?" He asked, before dropping his head down just as she had.

Myra found herself unable to think coherent thoughts, unable to resist those delicious lips against hers. Grudgingly she thought she had to admit he WAS a good kisser. Softening under his assault, she tilted her head, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Unfortunately he too pulled away, smirking widely. "And YOU were saying?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just shut up and kiss me already." Myra demanded, arching her head up. They were lost for many minutes in each other, both unable to pull away.

On the other side of the wall a girl sat by the door connecting their rooms, listening. A tear ran down her cheek as she stood up, eyes sinking to a deep red color. Dressed all his black, she took her cloak from the wardrobe and twirled it around her shoulders, the hood obscuring her face from view.

A glass vase shattered as she walked by it, throwing fragments across the floor, but she did not stop. Silently, she opened the doors to the castle, shutting them with a soft thud. She glided down through the grounds, stopping at the edge of the forest near the side of the lake, waiting.

Standing behind the windows that looked out over the lake a man watched her. He peered down his slightly hooked nose as she waited. A tall blond man made a grand entrance from the woods and the man by the window saw the girl walk foreword. He smiled and pushed his greasy black hair away from his face as the two by the woods conferred.

Everything was as it should be.

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><p><strong>NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW CUZ IT'S ALREADY WRITTEN!:<strong>

**The door closed behind them with a happy little jingle. The air around them exploded.**


	11. Chapter 10: Guardian Angel

**YAY! So I am for once updating in a semi-timely manner...and this is because I HAVE GOTTEN OVER 1,000 VIEWS ON MY STORIES! and this makes me absurdly happy...so yeah...oh and because I need something to help me procrastinate more so...**

**Hmmm...let me see... Once again I appologize if Natalya seems very Mary-Sue-ish I'm trying not to do that but it is kind of hard...oh well...and luckily this chapter is filled with Harry/Blaise slashfullness YAY! Also I apologize for all grammer and spelling mistakes and my terrible fight scenes...I'm working on those... **

**Anyways...MANY THANKS TO Obsessed362 FOR REVIEWING! YOU MAKE ME SO INSANELY HAPPY! And don't worry they most definitely will be put out of their misery so to say soon...I don't know how long I can keep them apart. It's getting quite tiresome and they really need to start developing their relationship. I'm glad you like it! :D**

**Also if anyone gets the A Very Potter Sequel reference you get a gold star! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope I don't own Harry Potter or Blaise Zabini although I really wish I did own him...Nor do I own clothing stores, hair-gel, or badly written fight scenes. I do however own a notebook if that counts for anything...I thought not. **

**WARNING: Yup this is still slash...so if you don't like it then hopefully you are reading this and head my warning and don't read on...if you are not currently reading this and do read on then please do not blame me for reading something you did not wish to read...I do believe you have been apptly warned by now...and if you haven't noticed this is slash yet then I think that maybe you have clicked on the wrong story...my apologies if you have.**

**and as always PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! THEY MAKE ME SO SO SO UTTERLY HAPPY I CAN'T POSSIBLY DESCRIBE IT WITH WORDS! even one review is better than none! even if it's just to say that this is only mildly horrible instead of completely horrible! although I do prefer nice things :) **

**so ENJOY! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Guardian Angel<strong>

Saturday morning dawned, for real this time, and the students of Hogwarts could be found getting ready for their first trip of the year to Hogsmead.

So of course Harry Potter could be found at 8 that morning amidst a pile of clothing. Harry was having a very big, very real problem. He had no idea as to what he should wear. Now normally Harry did not give any thought to his appearance, but today was a special day. It was such a special day that he had even tried to tame his hair...with hair-gel. Let's just say that it did not turn out well.

"Why does it even matter what you wear?" His best friend Ron asked as he watched Harry idly.

Harry ignored him and began rifling through his trunk again. After digging to the bottom again, Harry sighed in despair and buried his head in his hands.

"It's so important." Harry said through gritted teeth, "Because I am hopefully meeting up with Blaise to work on our Divination project."

Ron grinned widely as he looked down at Harry. "Thought it might be something like that." he said, looking slyly. "Let's get down to breakfast. Maybe either Hermione or Natalya can help you."

In the Great Hall Blaise Zabini was having quite a predicament. He was currently being assaulted by five death-glares from his fellow Slytherins.

"And WHY, may I ask you, are you planning on spending your time with Harry-sodding-Potter this afternoon?" Myra was asking him. She had assumed all of the Slytherin's nicknames for her cousin within the fourth week of school.

"Divination project, hopefully." Blaise mumbled.

"I do believe the question we should be asking, Myra, is what he and Potter will be DOING on this wonderful afternoon." Draco said slyly, raising his eyebrows suggestively and making Blaise blush.

"Well what're YOU two doing?" Blaise shot at Draco.

Wrapping his arm around Myra, Draco answered. "WE are going shopping with Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle, and then we are all going to the Three Broomsticks."

"Joy for you." Blaise muttered, eyes glued on the Great Hall doors as they opened, admitting a glasses-wearing Gryffindor and his best friend.

Harry slipped into the spot between Natalya and Seamus as Ron sat between Ginny and Hermione.

"Where were you two?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well," Ron answered, sniggering, "Harry here couldn't find anything to wear." Hermione, Natalya, Seamus and Ginny, as well as anyone who had overheard laughed at that.

Harry's ears turned red and he tried to sink below the table, but Natalya pulled him back up.

"So, who's the lucky one you're trying to impress then?" she asked him, wiggling his eyebrows.

Harry's ears turned even redder and he sank even lower in his seat. "Why don't you go sit with the Slytherins? Why are you even here?" Harry grumbled, making Natalya laugh.

"You never minded before." Natalya replied, smiling and shrugging.

"Harry wants one of you two to help him with his clothing issue after breakfast." Ron spoke up on Harry's behalf.

"Ugh not Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, reappearing from under the table. "No offense or anything." He quickly added as Hermione shot him a look. "I am trying to impress a Slytherin after all." he said, sending a longing expression over towards the Slytherin table.

"Hey Natalya, you're a Slytherin!" Ron exclaimed.

Natalya rolled her eyes, "Oh really? I hadn't noticed." she said sarcastically.

"So you know what Slytherins like, right?" Ron supplied helpful.

"Oh!" Natalya exclaimed, catching Ron's drift. "I could help you Harry." she offered, turning towards said boy-wizard.

"I'm not sure..." Harry drifted off, uncertainty written all over his face.

"Shut up Harry!" resounded around the Gryffindor table. Natalya looked at Harry grinning, a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"No! I can't possibly wear this!" Harry exclaimed. For the past hour Natalya and he, with the help of Ron and Seamus, had been going through every article of clothing he owned. One-by-one. Harry was going insane.

"You're right Harry, you most certainly can not." Natalya agreed. "But that's the last of your clothing." she looked around at the piles of threadbare hand-me-downs. She would have to recommend that Blaise took him shopping on their "outing" today. _Even though it isn't an official outing yet_, she reminded herself. _And it won't BE an outing if you don't find Harry clothing worthy of a Slytherin_, her mind added. _Damn straight.  
><em>  
>"Now what'll I do?" Harry groaned, feeling that all was hopeless.<p>

"Well..." Natalya began, the mischievous glint back in her eyes, "I brought some, uh, Slytherin clothing along. We should be able to find SOMETHING here suitable." she said, holding up a bag. Quickly, before Harry could protest, she dumped the pile on Harry's bed.

"No! No, no, no, no, NO!" Harry exclaimed, making Natalya, Ron, and even Seamus roll their eyes.

"Yes, Harry." Ron said. "If you want a Slytherin so badly then you'll have to dress like one." He said sternly, although there was a trace of a smirk on his lips.

"Oh fine." Harry grumbled, giving in.

"Here, I think Blaise'll like these on you the best." Natalya said, handing him a shirt and a pair of jeans.

Harry put them on quickly and was rewarded with a gasp of delight from Natalya. "They're perfect!" she crowed, but Harry looked skeptical.

"But this shirt is too tight and anyways these jeans are baggy." he complained, making Natalya roll her eyes at him again.

"The shirt is supposed to be that way. And anyways Blaise'll love it. It's Malfoy's and Blaise has made quite a few colorful comments about how great it would look on a shaggy haired Gryffindor who wears glasses." she said, smirking at Harry's expression when he found it to be Draco's.

"What! Malfoy's! No I WILL NOT wear something that belongs to DRACO FUCKING MALFOY!" he shouted. But Natalya just looked smugly at him, knowing he would have no choice. "How'd you get it anyway?" Harry said quieter.

"Ummm, he gave it to Blaise cuz Blaise said it reminded him of you and then Blaise gave it to me so I could give it to you so that you could wear it and look, and I quote 'so fucking delicious I'll want to eat him right there' so...yeah." she answered quickly. Harry just stood there, looking at her in shock.

"But, uh, what about the jeans?" Harry said awkwardly, attempting to break the awkward silence.

"Oh those are easy." Natalya said, taking out her wand and pointing it at Harry's pants. She whispered something under her breath and suddenly Harry's pants were tighter. Much tighter.

"Yow!" Harry exclaimed. "What'd you do that for? Now they're too tight!"

Natalya just laughed and circled him, looking him up and down. "Oh don't be such a baby!" she said, "And Blaise loves tight pants, or at least he WILL love tight pants on you."

"But, but they're Slytherin colors!" Harry whined.

Natalya, Ron, and Seamus exchanged a look, rolling their eyes. "Yeah Harry that's kinda the point." Seamus said. "You aren't trying to impress a Hufflepuff after all."

"Oh fine." Harry grumbled. "Do I dare to even ask which fine Slytherin lent me these pants?" he inquired to Natalya.

"Yah, um, I think those might also belong to Malfoy, although they could possibly be Blaise's." she answered grinning. She continued to circle him, looking him up and down.

"Just brilliant, I'm already wearing Blaise's pants. What ever could go wrong with that impression?" Harry grumbled, shooting Natalya a dirty look.

She just smiled back. "If he didn't want you to wear them then he wouldn't have given them to me." she said in a sing-song voice. "Anyways you look great. Now for the hair."

"What!" Harry exclaimed. "No! We are NOT messing with the hair!" he ducked away and tried to hide behind his bed.

"Oh come on Harry!" Natalya exclaimed, pulling him up and propelling him to the bathroom. "Sit." she commanded, pointing Harry to a seat before a mirror. "Now Blaise likes your hair all loose and shaggy like it is. I don't think he'll like it gelled, then he wouldn't be able to easily run his hands through it. But then again your hair is currently sticking up all over the place. I think if I..." she trailed off and got to work, no longer bothering to explain herself.

Picking up a silver brush, she ran it three times in Harry's hair. Like magic, Harry found his hair was now lying flatter then usual, it was now quite silky and soft, but it was somehow still a shaggy mess.

Grabbing a small bottle of silvery hair gel, Natalya squirted some in her hands. "No!" Harry protested. "I thought you said there would be no hair gel!"

"It's just a little, no one will be able to tell. This is very special hair gel anyway." Natalya replied, already running her hands gently through Harry's hair.

"But it smells weird." Harry continued to protest.

"Does not!" Natalya shot back, glaring at Harry in the mirror. "Trust me Harry, I'm a girl, I know what I'm doing."

When all was said and done, Harry stood before a full-length mirror, barely able to recognize himself.

"Wow." Harry gasped, resisting the urge to run his own fingers through his hair. He still wore the tight-fitting Slytherin green shirt, which accentuated his arm muscles and nicely toned torso. The tight black jeans were still on, complemented by some black and silver converse shoes Natalya had managed to find him.

Around his neck hung a fine silver chain, matching the one that was linked around his wrist. According to Natalya these were actually hers and were made out of melted silver bullets meant to kill sparkly vampires and shirtless werewolves.

"Now when and where are you meeting Blaise?" Natalya asked Harry as Ron and Seamus left to get ready. Glancing at the clock she noticed it was about quarter to eleven; students would soon be leaving for Hogsmead.

"Uh we aren't actually meeting anywhere. I was just hoping..." he trailed off, seeing the murderous look on Natalya's face. Quickly Harry ducked out the door and ran down the stairs to the common room, Natalya hot on his heals.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

"Come on Blaise it's almost Eleven!" Draco said, pulling at Blaise to get going. "Does it really matter THAT much what you wear?"

"Yes actually it does." Blaise answered, voice muffled as he rummaged around in his wardrobe. "I need to look devastatingly beautiful. And as hot and sexy as always." he added, looking up at Draco. "Help me! You're the leading expert at looking devastatingly beautiful after all."

Sighing, Draco went over to where Blaise was and began searching through the wardrobe full of clothes. "Here, how about these?" Draco asked, holding up a black top with grey jeans.

Putting them on, Blaise looked in the mirror. The shirt nicely outlined his muscled torso and arms, the jeans were tight and fit very well. Overall Blaise was quite impressed with Draco's choice, although he didn't really look devastatingly beautiful. More like freaking hot and sexy. Just the way Potter would like him.

"Don't forget this." Draco told him, tossing a silver chain at him.

Blaise grinned, stringing the chain around his neck. "Wouldn't want to get attacked by shirtless werewolves or sparkly Vampires now would we?" Blaise replied cheekily, making Draco laugh.

"Everyone knows Vampires don't sparkle, Blaise!" Pansy said out of nowhere, making Blaise and Draco go into fits of hysterical laughter.

"You guys ready to go?" Goyle asked, coming to stand behind Pansy. The two boys, still laughing hysterically, were unable to answer. "What's wrong with them?" Goyle asked, looking perplexed.

"No idea." Pansy replied. "Oi! You two lunatics down there! Let's get going!" she shouted. Slowly Blaise and Draco stopped laughing, although there was still the occasional hiccup.

"Yeah." Draco replied as Blaise got his shoes on. "Have any of you *hic* seen Myra?" he asked.

Pansy, Goyle, and Crabbe (who had just walked through the door) shook their heads. "She knows where we'll be." Pansy said, motioning for the boys to follow her as they turned to leave.

"Oh yeah Blaise." Draco said suddenly. "When and where are you meeting Potter anyway?"

"Um, Uh, well...we aren't exactly meeting anywhere. I was just hoping..." he trailed off.

"BLAISE ANTHONY ZABINI!"

In a dark cave overlooking the village of Hogsmead, a man and woman waited. They did not have long to wait, for trudging up the mountain towards them was a lone figure, their hair flying across their face in the wind.

The inside of the cave was dark and smelled of dead rats. "You bring news my pet?" he man asked the newcomer, staring down at her.

"Yes." the newcomer replied. "Draco said that Potter will be going to Hogsmead this afternoon."

"Excellent, my friend. Will he be alone?" The man asked, fiddling with his pale wand.

"I believe he may be with the company of another, My Lord." the girl replied.

"Who?" the women beside the man hissed.

"I believe it to be Blaise Zabini, My Lord. They have plans to meet and spend the afternoon together. I also believe that they will be going to the Wizarding apparel shop on Crossing street." the newcomer explained.

"Get him alone. He must be ALONE. That is of the utmost importance." the man said, eyes gleaming.

The girl bowed her head. "Of course My Lord."

"Then it is settled. Bellatrix," the man said to the women who stood next to him, "go down there. No one can recognize you. Capture Potter and bring him to me, kill the Zabini boy and any other who gets in your way, but Potter is mine."

Bellatrix nodded. "Yes, My Lord." she said. She walked to the cave entrance and waved her wand in front of her face. Where she had just stood stood a young barmaid with honey colored hair.

Together she and the girl made their way down the mountain.

The man stood at the cave entrance, watching the two go. Twisting his wand in his hands he smiled. "You shall be mine Potter." he whispered.

Harry listened as Ron and Hermione bickered all the way to Hogsmead. In his head he was going over why he had been so stupid as to think he would somehow see Zabini. _There will be_, he reminded himself, _hundreds of students there and Blaise could be among any of them. And what would you even do if you do somehow see him?_ A small voice in the back of his mind asked. _Why would HE want to spend time with YOU?_

Harry shrugged mentally. He did have the word of Natalya Hope that Blaise was obsessed with him. _But since when has the words of Slytherin accounted for anything?_ The voice again spoke up. _Why do you trust her anyway?_ It asked him. _She reminds me of Nellie_, Harry replied simply. Ignoring the voice in his head for now, Harry turned to observe Ron and Hermione.

Of course those two were still bickering over something very inconsequential. Harry laughed to himself as he wondered just when they would realize they were perfectly made for each other. _You might as well help them_, Harry thought, _plus it'll let you escape so you can look for-_

"Hey Harry." Ron interrupted his thoughts, "What do you think?"

"Um, ur, what?" Harry stumbled, face turning red.

Ron just laughed good-naturedly and slapped Harry playfully on the arm. "I don't blame you for being distracted. We were wondering where you would like to visit first." he repeated.

"Oh, um, I don't care. Wherever you two want." Harry replied, thinking fast. If he could just lead these two somewhere where they could spend a nice afternoon together...

It was decided upon to go to Honeydukes first; they were hoping to get there before the mobs of third years. Upon arrival, Harry looked quickly around at all the students, but he didn't see the dark skinned lad he was looking for, nor the shock of blonde hair he would most likely be traveling with.

Searching the shelves of candies, Harry spied some excellent looking chocolates he knew Blaise would adore. While Harry was "definitely not" staring at the Slytherin table, he somehow managed to notice that Blaise seemed to adore anything made with or tasting of chocolate.

Harry chose some small ones with mint in the middle that were said to be good, along with some milk chocolates that were guaranteed to melt in the mouth. As an extra treat, he chose some magical fairy chocolates dusted in different flavored crystals. He had overheard Natalya talking to Nott about how Blaise had eaten half the box he had gotten from home in one day. She was talking quite loudly, which Harry thought peculiar for a Slytherin, but perhaps she just hadn't noticed they were being overheard.

After exiting the shop with their various purchases, Ron turned towards Harry. "I think we'll go to Flourish and Blotts next." he said. "Hermione needs a new quill and wants to get some books. Then I think we'll look for Natalya so we can go to The Three Broomsticks with her and Liam." Natalya was spending the day touring Hogsmead with Liam and had finally left the Trio after chasing Harry through the school almost to the Great Hall.

Harry nodded and smiled as they set off. He hadn't missed the smile Hermione had given Ron, nor the fact that Ron had suggested they go to the bookstore solely for Hermione's sake. It would soon be time for him to get lost.

After watching Ron and Hermione try to choose a new quill for ten minutes, Harry decided to quickly disappear before they could badger him into staying with them.

"I think I'm going to go do some research for that Divination project, you two." Harry said, already turning to escape out the door.

"But Harry what're we supposed to...do?" Hermione said quietly as the door shut behind him.

Ron came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "So, you think Harry's going to be researching Blaise's lips and mouth?" Ron asked, grinning at Hermione.

Hermione laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised." she said.

"So what do you want to do?" Ron asked her, grinning again.

Hermione grinned shyly back, tentatively placing his hand in hers. "Ever heard of Madam Puddyfoots?"

Harry was walking down the street, trying to escape from Seamus Finnegan who strangely kept of asking him if he had seen Natalya lately. Shaking Seamus off with a grunted, "No, I think she's shopping with Slytherins." Harry turned down a side street.

Passing a female clothing store, Harry could hear familiar voices radiating from within.

"But what about me!" a voice whined.

Harry heard a female laugh. "This is a girl thing, you wouldn't want to hang around anyways." the girl, Harry recognized it to be Pansy, replied.

"But Goyle's staying!" the first voice whined again.

"But Goyle HAS to stay. I need SOMEONE to help me pick what undergarments to buy after all." Pansy said snickering.

"But what'll I do?" the first voice asked.

"Oh go snog Potter for all I care!" Pansy muttered, although Harry still heard it loud and clear. "Just get out."

To Harry's surprise Blaise came trudging dejectedly from the store. Noticing Harry, Blaise looked up and gasped.

"What- what're you-how much of that did you hear?" Blaise said slowly. Harry noticed a trace of anger and danger in his voice.

"Uh, everything?" Harry said weakly, staring at Blaise's shoes.

Then Blaise bolted, running towards the street from whence Harry came. "What the!" yelled Harry. "That prat." he grumbled, before taking off after Blaise. "Blaise! Blaise Zabini! Stop!" Harry yelled as he ran.

Finally Harry managed to catch up with him outside The Three Broomsticks. "Why're...you...running." Harry gasped, trying to regain his breath.

"What'd you hear?" Blaise asked him, panting.

"I already told you, everything." Harry answered. Blaise just looked at him with a calculating look in his eyes. Suddenly, Harry felt himself being hauled into a side alley and being pushed against the wall by Blaise.

Harry resisted the urge to push back against Blaise as he looked up into the boy's eyes. "What EXACTLY did you hear?" Blaise growled at him.

"Uh, just stuff about it being a girl thing, how you have nothing to do, and then something disturbing about Goyle helping Pansy choose underwear." Harry replied quickly, trying to slow his quick, excited breathing.

"Oh." Blaise said, the fear and desperation leaving his face. Quickly he backed away from Harry, who now was inwardly pining at the lack of contact. "Uh, sorry about that." he added sheepishly, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

Now that Harry saw the rest of Blaise, he had to resist whistling in appreciation. Zabini was gorgeous. And of course now Harry quite wished he was still pressed against the wall.

"Why'd you run after me anyway?" Blaise was asking him.

"Oh," Harry said, thinking fast. "I heard you have nothing to do, and neither really do I. I was, uh, wondering if you'd like to work on divination research." Harry mumbled.

Blaise watched Harry closely, noticing the way he looked down at his shoes, the way he was quite flustered in his presence, and he especially noticed the pink blush that was currently creeping up Harry's face.

"Why Harry, I thought you'd never ask. Where would you like to begin?" Blaise asked. He used the time Harry took to look around for a place to look Harry up and down. _Delicious, absolutely delicious_, Blaise thought. _If only he had more clothes like Draco's shirt. Hmmm..._

"I know, Potter!" Blaise exclaimed. "We can start there!" Blaise pointed towards the wizarding apparel shop across the way from The Three Broomsticks.

Harry gulped. Blaise wanted to go to Gladrags, the clothing store most known for its sexy and hot teen wear. He looked up at Blaise in shock, who smiled back at him. _He blushing again!_ Blaise thought_. He SO cute! Not to mention hot and sexy and absolutely delectable_. Blaise tried not to let a goofy grin spread across his face, but he was quite afraid it may have appeared for a second or too.

Grabbing Harry's arm, Blaise propelled him across the street. Blaise smiled to himself as the bell on the door jingled. Potter's getting a new wardrobe.

Natalya was happy. She was currently being shown around Hogsmead (like she hadn't already BEEN there a thousand times!) by Liam.

Passing by The Three Broomsticks she saw Myra and Draco sitting alone together. Natalya scowled and almost missed the barmaid she had quickly walked past. Turning around to look back at her, she saw past the glamour. That crazy hair was familiar to her, as were the heavy lidded eyes and pouting lips.

Fighting the urge not to gasp or walk back and kill that women once and for all, Natalya followed the women's gaze down the street. She actually DID gasp as Blaise came into view, Harry at his side. She watched the women closely as the two boys walked into the store.

The barmaid stood there, watching the door intently. Natalya figured she would wait until they left the building before attacking.

"Hey Natalya? Was that Blaise with HARRY POTTER?" Liam asked her, pointing to the door they had just went through.

"I think so. Wanna go check that store out?" Natalya asked, already dragging Liam towards the shop.

_Score!_Liam thought. Everyone knew Gladraggs was known for their tight-fitting teen apparel. Just what he wanted Natalya to wear.

As the bell on the door jingled happily, a plump witch bustled over to help them. "Ah Blaise dear!" she chirped. "I was wondering when I'd see your pretty little arse around here again." Blaise had the decency to blush, but Harry did notice a smug smirk on his mouth.

"Madam Malkin, let me introduce you to Harry Potter, famous man-wizard." Blaise said, trying to turn the attention away from him for the witch had begun to circle him, looking him up and down.

"Oh he's a delicious one!" she chirped, making Harry blush. "I've got some things I'D like to see him in!" she called as she bustled off to get said "things". Harry raised his eyebrows at Blaise who snickered.

"Yeah she pretty much adores me. Course she knows I'm flamingly gay, but I think it makes her like me more." Blaise said, smirk now completely in place. "Come on, we should find you something to try on before she comes back with her 'special' merchandise."

Harry followed Blaise over to the racks of clothes wondering for the life of him why Blaise was looking for clothes for him, Harry Potter. _Maybe it's cuz he lo_-the voice in his mind began to supply helpfully. _Quiet you!_Harry snapped at it.

Blaise was looking through shirts he knew would look good at Potter. _I wonder why Harry hasn't freaked out about this yet_, he thought. _Maybe he actually does like you; after all he didn't make a comment about you being flamingly gay_. Blaise smiled happily at that prospect.

While Harry was browsing some new dress robes, Blaise had found quite a few tops and pants for Harry to try on. "Here, these'll look good." Blaise said, walking over to stand behind him.

Harry turned to look at the pile of clothing in Blaise's arms. "Really?" he said, smirking slightly.

"Yah, they'll match your eyes well and fit your muscular body perfectly." Blaise said, trailing off and looking rather pink.

Harry laughed, taking the clothes. Blaise could have sworn he heard him mutter "gay as the Fourth of July", but he didn't mind. Harry was fine with his flirting and even seemed to like it; things were looking up for Blaise Zabini.

The moment after Harry went into the one fitting room, Madam Malkin came out of her back room. Blaise's stomach lurched at the amount of netting in her hands as well as the non-clothing items she held.

"Where's that wonderful man of yours go?" She asked Blaise. Blaise nodded towards the door of the changing room.

"And he's not my man, he's just-" Blaise began to add, but was interrupted by the happy jingling of a bell.

Blaise looked up at the newcomers, grinning when he saw it to be Liam and Natalya.

"Why aren't you the prettiest thing!" he heard Madam Malkin crow at Natalya.

Liam looked over the witch's shoulder to wink at Blaise, who grinned back. "Hiya Blaise." he said.

"Hiya there Liam!" Blaise answered back, copying Liam's accent (did I mention he's Irish?) and choice of greeting.

As Madam Malkin went back to the store room to give her customers some "privacy", Natalya waggled her eyebrows at Blaise, mouthing "Potter in there?", indicating the dressing room.

Blaise nodded, grinning at her. "Nice one!" Natalya said quietly.

Harry, who had taken quite a while getting into the first outfit chosen for him, heard the bell ring. Hearing the exchange of greetings, he deducted it to be Liam and Natalya. Quickly, Harry struggled into the pants Blaise had chosen. They were black leather and so tight Harry wondered if he'd be able to even move in them. Or if they would just cut off his circulation so his legs would fall off. He doubted Blaise would like him with no legs.

The shirt he pulled on was a medium grey V-neck, short sleeves, and like basically everything else in the pile was very very tight.

"You dressed yet Harry?" Blaise called. Out in the store Natalya had been trying on tops that Liam greatly approved of.

Indeed, Harry stepped out of the changing room to find Natalya in a lime green crop top. Harry's eyes widened as he saw the scarring on her abdomen, but he refrained from saying anything.

Blaise let out a low whistle and circled Harry, looking the boy up and down. "Yes very nice, very nice." he heard Blaise mutter.

"Uh, what's the point of this exactly Blaise?" Harry asked, suddenly struck with the weirdness of it all.

"Divination research, Harry, Divination research." Blaise replied with a smile on his lips. He shooed Harry back into the dressing room and Harry complied.

"Well it looks like you two are getting along well." Natalya whispered, eyes twinkling with laughter.

"Oh shut up." Blaise muttered back, but his face was glowing.

For the next half an hour or so Harry tried on everything that Blaise had chosen for him. He was quite surprised that almost everything was tight fitting and a lot of it seemed to be made out of leather. Madam Malkin appeared occasionally, trying to pass of some of her 'special' items to Blaise and Liam, who quickly waved her off.

Next came formal wear, which really caused Harry to question Blaise's motives for this trip. "And what," Harry asked Blaise when he saw the dress clothes in his arms, "do dress clothes have to do with our Divination project."

"Background research, Harry my dear, background research." Blaise replied smoothly, eyeing Harry hungrily. Harry looked skeptical, but went back to the dress room anyways.

After attempting to do up the ridiculous amount of buttons on the shirt Blaise had chosen, Harry decided he would need help. Harry didn't want to ask Blaise for help for he was afraid the Slytherin might jump him if he saw Harry shirtless. _THAT sounds like a good idea_...Harry's thoughts began to fantasize. _No!_ Harry replied sternly, _we do not want that to happen right now. We are merrily doing research. Yah right... "research"..._The voice in his head trailed off, but it remained quiet.

"Hey Natalya." Harry shouted through the door. "Could you lend me a hand in here?"

On the other side of the door Blaise was glaring at Natalya. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, Blaise dearest. I won't lay a finger on your precious Potter." she scoffed at Blaise. Blaise relaxed and nodded, knowing she could be trusted.

Entering the dressing room, Natalya saw Harry and went into a fit if giggles. "What?" Harry asked her, looking hurt.

"You-you are hopeless Harry!" she coughed out in between bouts of laughter.

Harry just threw up his arms in defeat and gave her an unfriendly look. "Help please." he said exasperated.

"Here." Natalya said, reaching to pull the shirt over Harry's head. It took her a matter of minutes to get the shirt completely buttoned and arranged on Harry. It was white, with poofy sleeves cuffed around his wrists with tiny silver jewels. The length of the shirt was tight and hugged his muscular abs tightly.

Natalya looked Harry up and down. Blaise had done well and now Potter truly did look like a freaking sex god.

After getting Harry into the obnoxious black dress pants, Natalya added the last part of the ensemble-a black cape that went over Harry's right shoulder.

"That should do it." she said, turning to leave the small room.

"Wait." Harry said, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her against the wall. He tried to remember everything Snape had taught him about Lagilimency, knowing it would be harder without a wand. But if he was right...

"What Harry?" she asked. "Did I miss one of the millions of buttons?"

Harry breathed deeply, preparing for what he must do. "Sorry Natalya." Harry whispered.

"Harry wha-"

"Lagilimens." Harry whispered, staring straight into her eyes.

Harry suddenly felt like he was hurtling into those glowing eyes and images filled his mind.

He was dancing with a blond haired boy, they were spinning in circles.

Around him was a circle of hooded figures, all wands trained on him. A man with dark hair and cruel eyes walked towards him...

The blond haired boy was back, their lips meeting as they lay on a bed clothed in black.

The boy was replaced by a man, snakelike with gleaming eyes. He ripped away from the man who struck him on the side of the face. "You do not disobey me Nellie." the man whispered.

The images began to flicker faster.

A boiling cauldron with a figure rising from it.

A group of laughing cloaked men as he was tortured again and again.

The blond haired boy sitting with him by the lake in the middle of spring.

A dark castle rising out of the darkness.

The images flickered faster.

He was chained in a dark room, his arms above his head. The chains were burning his flesh, the pain unbearable. A man wearing a bowler hat just watched as he screamed.

He stood before an army of vicious beasts, the only thing standing between them and the small town they were attacking, two silver swords blazing in his hands.

The man with the bowler hat was back. "Where's Voldemort?" Fudge yelled, firing a curse at him. He just whimpered, pain coursing through him.

He lay in a dungeon, neck and wrists burned and raw, as a man with flowing silvery hair approached him. The man caressed him gently on the cheek before lifting him up and disapperating.

He was partaking in a rather racy activity with the blond haired boy that we shall not describe.

Once again the blond boy was replaced by the snakelike man. He dug his nails into the man's back as their lips fought for dominance.

He was sitting alone on a rock watching the water ripple. Faces appeared in the water, beckoning for him to join them.

The images flickered faster and faster, finally stopping at one.

"WHERE'S VOLDEMORT!" Fudge yelled, making the chains wrapped around him burn. Harry screamed in pain but did not answer. "We know you know where he is, Nellie. Tell us!"

"No." he choked out. Fudge's wand sliced through the air and Harry screamed again. From the darkness in the corners of the room came dark figures, wands all trained on him.

"We thought he'd come for you." Fudge said, circling him. "But he's not is he? He hasn't felt your pain. He hasn't seen your pain."

"Let me go." Harry whimpered, making Fudge and the men around him laugh.

"Oh we will. But first we have a little surprise for you." Fudge said laughing. The men raised their wands shouting "IMPERIO!".

Pain ripped through Harry's body; his neck and wrists gushing blood, his body burning. He felt himself being pushed out of Natalya's mind.

-.-.-.

Harry stumbled back against the door. Natalya was trembling in the corner, eyes wide as Harry gaped at her.

"What have you done?" She asked, voice trembling.

"You're alive." Harry whispered, approaching her. "You're alive. Why'd you lie to me?"

"No. No, no, no, no, no. Oh Harry." She trembled, running a shaking hand through her hair. "Harry I-I-"

"Hey! You two almost done in there?" they heard Blaise call.

"Yeah Blaise!" Natalya called back, her voice loosing all its terror. "Just a few more buttons! This thing has like a million!" she called, rolling her eyes at Harry.

Harry just narrowed his eyes at her. "Why Nellie? Why?" he whispered harshly, glaring at her.

Natalya sighed, looking broken. Harry's expression softened. "Not now Harry, it'll take to long. Ten o'clock, Room of Requirement. Then I'll tell you everything."

They exited the changing room, causing much manly squealing to come from Blaise. After choosing their purchases (which really meant Liam and Blaise choosing clothes for Natalya and Harry) they were ready to exit the shop.

"Blaise." Harry said, while said Slytherin was paying for the Gryffindor's clothing.

"Yeah Harry?" Blaise replied, handing over his money to Madam Malkin.

"Um, why are you buying my clothes? I mean, what was the point of this? Not that I'm complaining or anything. It's just unusual..." Harry trailed off, looking at Blaise.

_Now he realizes it!_ Blaise thought, _took him long enough!_"Background research, Harry my dear, background research." Blaise explained simply.

Harry, trying to wrap his head around the logic of that one, was too distracted to ask any more questions. After being assured by Madam Malkin that their packages would be at the school when they returned, the quartet headed out the door.

The door closed behind them with a happy little jingle. The air around them exploded.

Harry watched as a jet of light shot towards them, just missing Liam. There were screams up and down the street as more jets of light came. Drawing his wand, Harry ran, the other three quickly following him. They ran, periodically ducking as curses flew over their heads. The person was obviously pursuing them.

They dashed through twists and turns as they hurtled down dark alleyways. It was in one alleyway where they stopped, gasping for breath, in front of a large grey-stone building. "Think we lost them?" Harry gasped, looking around.

Out of nowhere, a stunner flew through the air, hitting Liam straight in the chest. He fell without a sound. The three teens left stood side-by-side, backs to the building as they watched intently for their pursuer.

Around the corner came the barmaid Natalya had seen earlier, wand drawn, lips pulled back in a snarl.

Then the battle started. Despite it being three on one, Harry had never fought someone who could counter and cast such spells at so great a speed. She was also able to do silent spells, which was giving Blaise some trouble.

Blaise had never been good at dueling and was doing quite badly now. A spell hit the wall above Blaise's head, spraying him with shards of stone. Harry saw the woman wave her wand for another attack and tried to help Blaise. Seeing Harry distracted the women changed her spell, making several slashing motions and pointing her wand at Harry. Too late, Harry turned from Blaise to see a spell coming straight towards him. There would be no dodging it.

Harry watched in amazement as sparks of electricity seemed to travel down Natalya, her hair and eyes turning to blazing silver as a shield of magic appeared before Harry and Blaise. The shield was so powerful that the spell deflected off of it, hitting the wall high above them. The spell ripped through the wall, sending chunks of rock down upon the three. The rocks fell through the shield, turning to fine sand.

The shield then winked out of existence and Natalya was back to normal, looking exhausted. The duel continued and Harry could see Natalya growing weaker. Saving Harry's life had taken too much of her power.

"We have to get out of here!" Harry yelled while deflecting a spell and sending a stunner (that was easily countered).

"No!" he heard Natalya gasp out. "We'll never make it!" she just barely dogged a spell and managed to cast about two different hexes at once. Despite being exhausted and magically drained, she was still pretty good.

The three had finally driven their hunter a few feet back when Blaise fell. The women, seeing this, laughed. She slashed her wand through the air and a bolt of black light shot out of it.

As if in slow motion, Harry saw Natalya leap in front of Blaise, sparks flying down her hair. The spell hit her full across her stomach. She hung in the air, the black light pulsing through her body. Then she crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

Harry gasped, shocked. Caught off-guard, Harry was hit by a stunner Blaise had cast that the women had deflected.

Seeing Harry go down, the women laughed maniacally again. Her features began to change and before Blaise now stood a woman with crazy dark hair, dark heavy-lidded eyes, and a maniacal expression on her face. Yup, it's Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Ready to join your friend?" Bellatrix cackled, pointing at Natalya who still lay motionless.

Blaise looked at Harry, anger building inside of him. This woman had hurt Harry. This woman had hurt HIS Harry. Blaise was going to hurt her.

Bellatrix was still talking, cackling evilly. (Why she just didn't kill Blaise and take Harry right then and there we'll never know). With anger coursing red-hot through him, Blaise yelled. He cast curse after curse after curse at Bellatrix. His anger and love for Harry turning him into a lethal killing machine.

Eyes wide, Bellatrix tried to deflect as many curses as she could. One got past her and hit her right shoulder, spinning her around as pain coursed through her arm. Useless, her wand hung from her hand. Using a last resort, Bellatrix muttered on last spell and ran for her life.

The building behind Blaise exploded in shards of rock. Scrambling away from the rubble, Blaise watched as the wall collapsed...right on top of the three fallen teens.

"Oh no. Oh Harry!" Blaise wailed, climbing through the rubble. He scrambled over to stop where Harry had fallen, digging through the shards of stone. Quickly he uncovered Harry's hand and his head. To Blaise's joy Harry still seemed to be alive, though he was bleeding heavily from a gash on the side of his head.

By the time Blaise had uncovered most of Harry's body from the rocks a group of onlookers had formed. Some helped Blaise, while others tried to find the other two teens.

They found Liam first, who seemed pretty unharmed besides a few cuts and bruises. A few teachers, drawn over by all the commotion, gasped in horror when they saw the scene.

"What the devil happened here?" Hagrid bellowed when he caught sight of Harry among the ruble. With his help Harry was completely uncovered in a matter of minutes.

Professor McGonagall just looked shocked when she caught sight of Blaise, tearful and frantic, hovering over the body of Harry Potter.

Having completely uncovered Liam, Hagrid gently lifted Harry from the ruins while McGonagall levitated Liam through the air. "We must get to them to the hospital wing as soon as possible." she said, beginning to walk away.

"NO!" Blaise yelled, frantic once again. "Natalya! She-she's still in there!" He ran over to where he remembered her being and began to dig through the stone. Hagrid set Harry down carefully and came to help, able to move much more stone then Blaise.

Blaise nearly cried when he saw her. Her face was ashen with blood splattered on it. Hagrid had to lift a giant chunk of wall off her torso so they could get to the rest of her. When they removed the rest of the stone Blaise doubled over and vomited until he was dry-heaving.

McGonagall looked horrified when she saw her and quickly covered Natalya with her cloak. The small group made their way up to the school with Blaise still hovering protectively around Harry.

Farther down the street a girl watched them, anger bubbling in her chest when she saw Potter and that GIRL were alive. Bellatrix had failed.

"Don't worry Myra." Draco said, coming to stand behind the girl, missing the flash in her eyes. "They'll be fine."

Myra turned around, a sad look on her face. "Good." she said, burying her face in Draco's chest. "I was SO worried."

From over Draco's shoulder she watched the group travel up to the school. She grinned at the thought of the news she would bring her Lord.

She would make sure Nellie Lovett died...for good this time.

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><p><strong>Harry gasped slightly, making Blaise jerk up in surprise. His cheeks turned warm again as he saw Harry's tongue unconciously slip out of his mouth and wet his lips, his right hand buried quite hypnotically in his gorgeous dark hair. Harry's emerald eyes lit up as he gasped again, writing quickly on his parchment and Blaise had to look down at his book quickly. Nothing quite affected him like Potter's eyes.<strong>


	12. Chapter 11: The Department of Mysteries

**YAY ANOTHER CHAPTER! And hopefully this is a very good chapter...I hope. **

**MANY MANY MANY THANKS TO MY REVIEWER! I LOVE YOU! VERY MUCH! Hopefully this was updated soon enough for your liking and you are not wanting to kill me...and hopefully you also really like this chapter. Unfortunately this chapter is not very Blaise/Harry-ful...we must wait until the next chapter for that :D but hopefully it will be at least a little bit worth it. AND PLEASE CONTINUE REVIEWING! I LOVE IT ALL!**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope I still don't own Harry Potter...surprise I know. Nor do I own awesome story telling, torture scenes, or weird back-plots. I also sadly do not own the Room of Requirement, although that would possibly be the awesomest place ever!**

**WARNING: Yup, still SLASH. You have been aptly warned before now...hopefully. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: The Department Of Mysteries<strong>

Harry opened his eyes and was promptly blinded by the white lights of the infirmary. "Uhhh." he groaned faintly, trying to lift up his hand to cover his eyes.

"HARRY!" a shout came from his elbow. Harry turned his head slightly and caught a glimpse of the chocolate-brown eyes of Blaise Zabini.

"What happened?" Harry groaned, trying to raise his head but falling back with another groan as pain laced through his head.

"Well," Blaise began uncertainly, "It was Bellatrix, Bellatrix Lestrange, who attacked us. I managed to hit her with a burning curse, but she made the wall collapse on you and fled. Liam's been awake for a few hours now, but Natalya..." he trailed off, looking worried.

Madame Pomfrey came bustling over, goblet in hand. "Good heavens, Mr. Potter. You're awake!" she exclaimed, handing Harry the goblet of potion.

Harry downed the potion in one gulp, wincing at the taste. Immediately Harry felt his body relax, the pain fading away. He lifted himself up to a sitting position and could now see Blaise clearly. The Slytherin looked terrible. There were dark marks under his eyes which were a swollen red, and he seemed to have been sitting in the chair he was on for over a day.

"You look terrible, Zabini." Harry said weakly, noticing the look of hurt that flashed briefly on Blaise's face at the use of his last name.

"Yeah, well, you would too if you were worried out of your mind!" Blaise shot back. "You guys have been out for two days." he mumbled.

Harry's face fell slightly. "You must really care about Natalya." he whispered.

"It wasn't her I was worried about." Blaise replied quietly, standing. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Blaise was already heading towards the door. He opened it and left, never looking back.

Harry sighed and swung his legs around to hang off the bed. With a grunt he lifted himself up and took a tentative step forward. His whole body ached in pain, but his legs could at least support him somewhat. Harry staggered over to the bed with the drapes pulled around it, passing Liam on the way. He looked down at the sleeping Slytherin, who shifted and murmured something in his sleep. Harry had never really known Liam until just a couple of weeks ago. He didn't really seem like the Slytherin type; he was neither malicious, conniving, nor overly power-hungry. He seemed just like any other teenage boy. And now Harry had dragged him into this mess, and he had gotten the boy injured because of it.

With a shake of his head and the mental reminder that there was nothing he could do about it now, Harry opened the curtains around the bed he was standing before. As he looked down at the body of Natalya, Harry had the distinct feeling of dejá vú and a strange buzzing seemed to fill the back of his brain.

"Potter, you're out of bed." Harry heard behind him, making the Gryffindor jump and spin around.

"Ah," Harry said as he realized it was just Madam Pomfrey, "Poppy, you scared me." he said with a laugh. The Healer smiled at him before looking down at the girl in the bed. Her body was pulsing with a black light, yet she was unmoving.

"She's broken a lot of bones, Harry." Madam Pomfrey muttered quietly. "Half her ribs were cracked from the chunk of wall that had landed on them and her right hip was shattered." she informed him.

"You can fix those, right?" Harry asked, certain that such trivial injuries would be no match for the Nurse.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "I did last night, but she still hasn't woken. This curse is very dark magic, Potter. It's affecting her bodies in ways I can't even begin to understand. And, if she makes it, we will have no idea if she'll be the girl we once knew her to be." Madam Pomfrey sighed deeply. "No girl should have to go through what she has, Potter. Remember that." the Healer turned, gathering the pile of cups that sat on the bedside table. "I need to get more potion." she told Harry before turning and walking into her office.

Harry stood there, watching the light pulse dark, then light, then dark again. "Madam Pomfrey!" he shouted suddenly. The Nurse came running from her office, skirts flying.

"What is it Potter?" she asked. In reply Harry just pointed.

The girl's body was no longer pulsing with a dark light, instead it enveloped her. This would have been alarming in and of itself, but from her left side a spider web of silver light was slowly spreading through her body. Harry and Madam Pomfrey watched in shock as the silver light sprawled over her body until it was encased in a glowing mesh of silver. The light pulsed once, twice, and then faded away into nothing. Natalya shifted slightly, neck curving, and they could see her face relax into sleep.

"What was that?" Harry asked in hushed tones, frightened eyes looking into Madam Pomfrey's.

"I have no idea." the Healer replied. "My only guess is that it was her aura perfecting her. It takes a very powerful sorcerer, Mr. Potter, to have an aura that others can see with the naked eye at any time." the two stared down at Natalya, who's mouth curved into a slight smile as she dreamed. "I think she'll survive, Harry." Madam Pomfrey finished, turning away to go back to her office.

Night descended quickly in the Hospital Wing and soon Harry found himself getting ready to sleep again. They had had no visitors, but Madam Pomfrey assured Harry that it was because she was allowing no one in the Hospital Wing who wasn't there for a life threatening injury. He understood that she wanted no one to know what had befallen him and the two other Slytherins. She had even kept the majority of the professors out, and thus their nosy questions, and for that Harry was very thankful.

Liam had woken late in the evening; hungry, tired, and wanting desperately to talk to someone. Harry had been surprised to find that the Slytherin was actually quite nice to converse with, fun even, and that the conversation had been neither awkward, nor overly forced. Harry was happy the day was over. He was tired, worried, and he really needed a break from it all. Natalya had not woken yet.

Harry and Liam both awoke in the middle of the night to screams coming from Natalya's bed. Harry quickly scrambled out of his bed and over to hers to find that Liam was already there. The girl's eyes were wide open, but didn't seem to see anything, her mouth open wide as she screamed. The area around her bed was bright with the light that came from the thousands of sparks that danced on her skin.

Liam looked at him in fear. "What's happening to her!" he exclaimed, voice shaking.

Harry said nothing. He took a deep breath and touched Natalya's hand. All at once the sparks disappeared, leaving them in a patch of darkness. "Natalya." Harry whispered. "Natalya...you alright?" he asked softly. Suddenly her eyes opened and her arm shot out, grabbing Harry around the front of his throat. Harry looked steadily into the glowing amber eyes until they fell slowly shut and her arm dropped down. Her breath turned easy again, steady and calm.

Liam opened his mouth to speak, but Harry shook his head, placing a finger against his lips. Liam nodded in understanding and Harry jerked his head slightly towards their beds. The two boys looked at Natalya again, who was sleeping peacefully, before turning and going back to their beds.

The next morning Harry was woken up by birds chirping, sunlight streaming through the windows, and Madam Pomfrey yelling at Liam to get out of bed. Harry quickly scrambled out of his own bed just as Madam Pomfrey arrived at it, goblets of potion in hand.

"Ah, Potter you're awake." she said, giving him a look. "After you take this you can pack up your stuff and get to breakfast." she said. "You too WINTERS!" she shouted over her shoulder. She smiled down at Harry before bustling back into his office to give him time to change.

About ten minutes later Harry and Liam were leaving the Hospital Wing, having said good-bye to Natalya, who was awake and seemed to be fine. Madame Pomfrey said she would be let out by the end of the day. In his hand Harry held a note he had found on his nightstand with one sentence on it: Midnight, Room of Requirement.

Liam nodded to Harry before taking off towards the dungeons. Harry walked quickly up to Gryffindor Tower, knowing that everyone else would be at breakfast. But he wasn't hungry, and he didn't really want to have to discuss what happened. His day would be pretty easy; no classes, no work, no worry. Harry walked up the stairs to his dorm and fell into his bed wearily.

He slept soundly for many hours.

Harry stood before the wall on the Seventh floor where he knew the Room of Requirement was located. He had slept until Ron and the rest of the Gryffindor boys had stormed into his room and demanded he get up RIGHT NOW! He had managed to get off with telling an edited version of the attack and aftermath, making sure to leave out what he had learned about Natalya. After about an hour of interrogation he had managed to sneak out and make his way down to the 7th floor corridor.

Along the way Harry had a run-in with Draco and Myra. At once Harry's anger flared up at seeing the two together, now that he knew Nellie was alive.

"Watch where you're going, Potter." Draco spat, glaring at Harry.

Harry glared back, fire alight in his eyes. "I was, Malfoy. It was YOU who was distracted by that...that girl to notice that there are others at this school besides yourself." he snarled.

"Don't you DARE bring Myra into this." Draco growled.

"Defending her are you?" Harry asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "I remember when the positions were reversed."

"What are you on about?" Draco spat, eyes glaring daggers, daring Harry to continue.

He did. "I'm just saying you seem to have downgraded yourself with this whore." he drawled, knowing this move was low. She WAS his cousin after all, no matter how many times removed.

"What did you say?" Draco growled.

"You heard me." Harry shot back. "Pitty, at least the last girl could protect herself."

Draco's face turned red and his voice became dangerous, warning violence. "Shut. Up. Potter." he hissed.

Harry shrugged. "Just an observation." he said casually, as though they had been discussing the latest Quidditch statistics. "Send Natalya my regards." he continued. "And tell her she deserved better."

After turning on his heal and walking quickly around the corner, leaving Draco and Myra standing there, Harry decided it was time he did something about the feeling that had been nagging him for some time.

So Harry went to the library. He was browsing through the books on Dark Arts History when he spotted a darker skinned boy at a table through a gap in the books. He desperately wanted to go and talk to Blaise, but he wasn't sure if the Slytherin would want to see him after the way Blaise had walked out that morning. Harry sighed and just managed to duck out of sight as Blaise looked up and looked around.

Harry found a couple books that looked promising on the history of the Dark Arts, a Dark Wizard tally and reference tomb that was too large for comfort, and an extended addition of "Hogwarts: A History". He looked around the tables, finding none of them empty. Each table contained two chairs across from each other and the majority were already filled.

The first spot Harry saw was across from Hermione, probably the worst person for him to encounter if he didn't want further interrogation. Plus she was too smart for her own good and would most likely figure out what Harry was up to. The next was occupied by Luna, who looked like a nice option until Neville sat across from her. Then there was Nott, who Harry had never talked to and he really didn't want to start now. That basically left him with a seventh year Slytherin, which was like asking for a death sentence, Blaise, or Hermione.

Harry decided to go with the less of the two evils and sat across from Blaise like it was the most normal thing to do in the world. Harry figured that if he ignored the other boy he'd be able to do what he had to before he made his escape.

That proved easier said then done, as most wonderfully challenging things are. Harry forced himself not to look up at the Slytherin as he felt the other boy's eyes on him and instead opened up a book entitled "The Evilest Sorcerers of the 19th and 20th Centuries".

After thoroughly combing through the contents and finding nothing of any use to him, Harry moved on to "Fay and Their Ancestors: A Practical Guide".

Here Harry did find a bit of relatively relevant information and he marked the page, writing down the gist of it on his parchment. Only then did his will break and he looked up to meet the chocolate eyes of one Blaise Zabini.

Instead of looking away as can normally be expected, Blaise stared at Harry harder, as if trying to memorize ever feature of his face. Blaise briefly licked his lips before settling down more comfortably in his chair and returning to his book.

Harry sighed softly and moved on to "Dark Sorcerers and Where to Find Them". This proved to be fairly helpful and Harry managed to get at least a background for what he was looking for. After putting that to the side Harry glanced up to find Blaise looking at him again. Blaise looked at him for a moment, mouth slightly open and cheeks fairly red, before shaking his head with a jerk and going back to his reading. Harry waited until he seemed quite enthralled by the written word before going onto "Voldemort's Inner Circle: What We Do and Don't Know About It", which he had managed to sneak out of the Restricted Section.

Harry gasped slightly, making Blaise jerk up in surprise. He cheeks turned warm again as he saw Harry's tongue unconsciously slip out of his mouth and wet his lips, his right hand buried quite hypnotically in his gorgeous dark hair. Harry's emerald eyes lit up as he gasped again, writing quickly on his parchment and Blaise had to look down at his book quickly. Nothing quite affected him like Potter's eyes.

Feeling ever so slightly aroused and knowing it would only get worse if he stayed in the presence of the boy-who-Blaise-found-too-sexy-for-his-own-good. Especially if he continued to read about the topic which the book he was currently reading just so happened to be written about. That certainly wasn't helping.

With a last long look at the beautiful spectacle before him Blaise slammed his book closed, carefully covered the title with his hands, and raced out of the Library as fast as he could. Harry sighed in relief, not knowing how longer he could have held himself back from reaching across the table and snogging Blaise senseless - or at least striking up a conversation with the oh so formidable Slytherin.

Getting to work, Harry cross-referenced the "Extended Hogwarts: A History" with "Voldemort's Inner Circle: What We Do and Don't Know About It". For over an hour he checked and re-checked his facts, re-organized his notes, and changed the style in which he re-wrote them.

Then he Triangle-referenced both books with "Fay: A Practical Guide", triple checked his notes, added pieces of parchment, and drew multiple kinds of fairy wings.

Harry sighed and looked up to see most of the tables empty, it was getting late, but he still wasn't done yet. Checking his watch, Harry flipped to the section of the "Extended Hogwarts: A History" marked "Slytherin and Other Oddities in the Castle".

He scanned through the introduction and quickly flipped to the second sub-section marked "Slytherins Who Became Great". He scanned through the list of names and marked four of them before moving on to the sub-section "Secret Rooms No One Knows About". Here he checked over a section of his notes, starred a bit, and crossed out a couple of lines.

Finally Harry reached the section labeled "Bonds and Relationships", which could only be found in the extended edition and would add information as new prevalent relationships happened in present time. This was one of the reasons why the book was so big and got bigger every ten years or so.

Finding what he was looking for Harry read the section carefully, nodding to himself and chewing his lip thoughtfully. When he came to end he circled a bit of important information and added it to his parchments. With a nod of coming to his final conclusion Harry closed his books and returned them to their shelves before sitting back down to pour over his notes.

With a smile Harry wrote a sentence, boxed and starred it, and checked his watch. It was 15 minutes to Midnight. He looked up to find himself alone, not even Madam Pince the Librarian was about. Strange that she would leave without kicking him out, but then of course a lot of strange things had been happening recently.

So Harry got up and left, not noticing the sheet of parchment that had fallen off of the table. When he was out of sight a girl reappeared behind a book case, picked up the parchment, and scanned it quickly. With a triumphant smile she stuffed it in her bag and disappeared into the darkened halls of the school.

So now Harry could be found standing in front of the tapestry of dancing hippos. He was five minutes early and, despite him being there, didn't really expect Natalya to show up. Who knew if she was even strong enough to get out of bed.

Harry closed his eyes and thought of a nice place to talk, somewhere comfortable where all stress would disappear. He walked three times past the tapestry and opened his eyes to see a huge wooden door had appeared in the wall in front of him.

He stepped through and into an entirely different room. In one wall a walk-in fireplace blazed with a couple of dark blue couches in front of it. Harry looked around in amazement at the lanterns that adorned the stone walls which were draped with deep blue silks. His eyes settled on a gigantic four-poster bed draped with light and dark silks, which sat before another roaring fireplace.

Its mattress seemed to be stuffed with goose feathers and a heap of soft looking pillows rested on it. Harry mentally tried to will it away, thinking it was unnecessary and could give the wrong impression, but the room was adamant and the bed remained.

Harry sighed and flopped down on of the couches and waited. After almost falling asleep three times Harry checked his watch. To his surprise it was already 12:30. He shook his head at his stupidity.

_I should have known she wouldn't show up,_ he thought. _She's probably not even out of the hospital wing_. Harry stared into the fire, thinking, wondering if he should just leave and go to sleep.

His head jerked up as the door opened and he saw Natalya slip silently through. "Sorry Harry." she said, her voice strangely loud in the quiet room. "I was just- OW!" she shrieked suddenly.

Harry watched in amusement and slight concern as Natalya started hopping up and down shrieking "Ow ow ow OW!" He watched as tiny sparks of electricity flitted across her skin.

"OW!" Natalya yelled again. "Stupid-ouch!- room!" she grumbled. To Harry's surprise the lanterns all flickered out of existence and the room went dark. Even the flashes of sparks were gone.

"God dammit." he heard Natalya growl. The lanterns flared back up and Harry saw Natalya glaring at him. Then he realized that he had been laughing. He grinned at her and she scowled back. "It's not funny, Potter." she sulked.

Harry shrugged. "It was pretty funny from where I'm sitting." he stated. He looked her up and down. "I like this look better on you anyways."

Natalya scowled at him again, though she couldn't stop a brief smile from flicking across her face, and tossed her now silver hair over her shoulder. "Stupid room. I should have known it would interfere with my aura." she sighed. "Oh well. At least you already know my damn secret."

Harry nodded with a smile. "You wanted to talk?" he asked, carefully prodding them in the dark direction they were already headed.

Natalya sighed and nodded. "You asked me a question, Potter. I'm going to answer it." She looked around and Harry saw her eyes light up as she noticed the bed. "Sorry but..." she trailed off, looking apologetically at Harry as she moved to lay on the poofy mattress. "wounds and all that."

Harry nodded and went over to her. He should have known she wouldn't care about the implications, there was only one person she felt like THAT about, and god knows it wasn't him.

Harry lay on his side, his head propped up on one hand, facing Natalya. She curled up in a tight ball against the pillows and closed her eyes. At once Harry was struck at just how small she was. "You want to know why I lied." she stated matter-of-factly. "I'll tell you." she didn't wait for a reply.

"It was Voldemort's idea from the beginning." she started, not opening her eyes. "We needed some way for me to disappear completely. A way for me to vanish off the face of the earth, now that the Ministry had found me."

"They know then?" Harry asked him quietly. "They know you're a Death Eater?" he saw Natalya's head nod.

"They know more than that." she said. "They know about..." she gulped, "Voldemort's weakness."

"How?" Harry gasped.

"Bellatrix." Natalya answered with a snarl. "She sold me to them. She came to me saying that Lucius was in trouble. When I got there the Ministry was waiting...with 10 stunners trained on me. I didn't stand a chance and she knew that." she laughed bitterly.

"I don't know where they took me, though from what I saw I assume it was somewhere in the Department of Mysteries." she paused, thinking. "And that's when things got bad."

Harry watched in wonder as the room around them dissolved. He found himself looking at a sort of dungeon, the same as he had seen in Natalya's memories, only this time he could see her as well.

"They wanted to know where Voldemort was of course. They didn't believe me when I said I didn't know. Bellatrix had told them everything about me and...him." Harry watched as the figure of Fudge materialized in the scene around them, wand out.

"I never knew Fudge to be cruel, but he can be if he wants to. They have no mercy for Voldemort's supporters, and Fudge, well he was getting desperate. He knew he'd have to catch Voldemort before the election. And this was the only way he knew how." she said sadly.

The scene around them shifted and more men materialized out of thin air. "They had been at it for three weeks when Fudge came again, smiling. They had already used all the dark curses they could and had even resorted to physical torture," Harry saw as the men drew knives, carving them into her skin, her blood staining the floor crimson. "but of course they made sure I didn't die. They were too smart for that. They knew Voldemort would never come for me if he thought I was dead."

The scene shifted yet again to the one Harry had seen in her memories. "But he never did come." Natalya said quietly. "He had no reason to. So Fudge did the worst thing he could do. He broke me."

Harry heard the shouts of "IMPERIO" and the flashes of light as the apparition of Nellie twisted and writhed, tearing at the chains that held her, until she fell limp, unmoving. "Why did they even bother?" Harry asked. "Everyone knows you can't fall to the Imperious Curse."

Natalya shook her head. "Not anymore." she muttered. "Voldemort made sure of that." Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Natalya plowed on. "In the beginning of the summer I was called to him. He was beginning to...question...my loyalty. He wanted to make sure that I would never leave him again." she paused to let the room catch up to her dramatic time change.

Around them morphed a huge room in what Harry assumed was Malfoy Manor. The walls were lined with hooded figures and in the front of the room sat two chairs; one containing the master of evil himself and the other held none other than Draco Malfoy, his arms chained.

"Voldemort made Draco witness it, so he would know he could never have me again. He used Dark Magic to take some of my aura and bind it to his. With it he made sure he could, in a way, posses me whenever he wanted." Natalya went on.

The room around them was filled with flashing light as the Imperious Curse was flung at the apparition of Nellie over and over again. He saw her collapse and Voldemort walk up to her, flipping her over to her front with his foot. Voldemort looked down at her with a smile and then turned to smile maliciously at Draco. The blonde boy was straining at the chains, his eyes wide and his face drained of all color.

The scene around them went black. "What happened?" Harry asked, voice echoing around the suddenly silent room.

"I'm not sure. But whatever it was it made Draco go crazy. And it ensured that I could never escape my Lord. I was possessed by him; I could hear him, see him, at all times. I was still myself, but somehow he was...inside me." Natalya turned her head to glance at Harry before resting it down again.

"Malfoy never mentioned that happening." Harry said, frowning.

"He doesn't remember. Lucius obliviated him afterwards. It would have destroyed him." Natalya answered.

Harry looked at her back for a moment. "So what does this have to do with the Ministry?" he asked.

"Someone who is possessed is controlled by that person. It's like a darker and stronger form of the imperious curse. The problem is when the Imperious Curse was cast on me I was possessed by Voldemort. It's like your mind and soul are being drawn in two directions; your possessor's will and your master's will. It was slowly destroying me." Natalya laughed quietly. "In a way I was glad. No one had ever tried to die and failed multiple times just to be killed by magic that wasn't even supposed to kill in the first place."

"But you didn't die." Harry stated.

"Obviously." Natalya sneered rolling her eyes though Harry couldn't see. "The Ministry left me in some dungeon, which was where Lucius found me." The room around them changed to a dark room with Nellie lying on the ground. A man with long blonde hair walked in and knelt by her side. He smoothed back her hair and kissed her gently before lifting her up and disaperating.

The room changed again and now Harry could see Natalya and Voldemort in a sort of study with very comfy looking chairs. "Then Voldemort had his great idea to actually kill me. I thought he was mad, but it worked." Natalya explained.

"Why'd you get Malfoy and I mixed up in all this?" Harry asked, with a raise of his eyebrows.

Natalya smirked and sat up slightly to look at Harry. "I was just playing with Draco and you just happened to be there." she said. She smiled widely. "And Draco quite brilliantly failed the test."

"What test?" Harry asked, intrigued.

"The test to see if he actually cared about me or not." Natalya said with another smirk. "He was supposed to never love another girl again. He said he never would." her face fell slightly. "It didn't work out quite like I had planned."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Harry asked.

Natalya sighed, grinning slightly. "Revenge seems like quite a good idea right now."

"Revenge on who?" Harry asked with an eyebrow raise. "You really need to plan these revenge plots out Nellie." he scolded lightly, grinning.

Natalya smiled back. "I was thinking Myra. I like Draco too much to actually hurt him. We ARE meant to be together after all, but Myra was never supposed to be in the picture." she explained happily.

"And what exactly are you planning?" Harry asked, leaning back slightly.

"I'm going to beat her at her own game." Natalya said with a smirk. "What do you say I once again regain my place as Slytherin's Queen?"

"I thought it was Princess." Harry said, looking at her in mock puzzlement.

"Whatever!" Natalya said with a laugh. "Plus I think getting on Draco's nerves is also a move best employed. Plus jealousy is always an option." she grinned.

"Oh." Harry said in realization. "So that's with Liam!"

Natalya nodded. "Yep. That's his sole purpose in this scheme, the poor boy. I really do feel kinda bad about it all, he's just such a sweet guy." she said wistfully. "He reminds me of this wolf I once met. Really nice but completely oblivious to what's really going on."

Harry thought for a moment. "Natalya." he said suddenly as he finally realized what he had been missing.

"Hmmm?" she answered, having snuggled back into a ball.

"Can you still shape-shift?" he asked. Harry saw her shoulders tense and a stuffed animal Panda appeared in her arms.

"No." she said after a pause. "That was the first thing the Ministry took from me." she rolled over to face Harry and rested her head against it. The bear's fur was soon wet with her tears. "It's strange, Harry. Like some part of you's missing. I'm not who I was before. I'm not as strong as I used to be, not as scary or powerful. Harry I think- I think I'm losing my bond with Draco." she choked out.

Harry stared at her, clutching onto her panda bear like it was her anchor to life. He had never seen her this vulnerable. She was right, there WAS something missing. "What does that mean?" he asked slowly.

Natalya looked serenely at him. "It means I should be able to finally die. It also means I'm losing him for good." Harry looked at her a moment and a strange expression flitted across his face. "Why're you looking at me like that?" Natalya said defensively.

"Shouldn't you be able to tell?" Harry asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

Natalya looked down at her knees, cheeks turning slightly pink. "Well..." she murmured.

Suddenly Harry felt very angry on her behalf. They had taken what made her special, what made her Nellie, even more so then her ability to shape-shift. "They took that too." he growled. "The Ministry."

Natalya shook her head. "Not them. Voldemort." she said.

Harry growled quietly. "Why?" he demanded.

"Why do you think?" she shot back. "What else could make me more vulnerable? He was afraid of what I knew, so he took it all."

Harry growled again, deep in his throat. "Well he shouldn't have." he spat.

Natalya laughed and a smile lit up her face. "Thanks for the concern Harry. It's weird not being able to hear the voices in my head, but it's bearably. You have no idea just how annoying they could get." she joked, making Harry laugh apprehensively.

"So what are you going to do now?" he asked.

Natalya smiled at him, smirking slightly. "Plot, scheme, and live like I always have." she answered. "Now what is going on between you and Zabini?" she asked with a leer.

Harry laughed, wiggling his eyebrows. "What do you think is going on?" he questioned with a mysterious look.

"Well I'd say you two are head over heals with each other and really need to get a move on with this relationship thing. You two need to be happily in love before Voldemort attacks." she answered.

"Ah yes." Harry sighed. "And when will that be?"

"Who knows? But you and Blaise have plenty of time to get it on before then." Natalya stated.

"Nellie!" Harry exclaimed, appalled and blushing.

"Don't deny you want to." Natalya laughed, raising her eyebrows. "Anyways I think that Blaise will-" she stopped mid-sentence, clutching her stomach. "He calls." she gasped. Then she was gone.

After Harry had left them Draco and Myra stood there, Draco looking confused and Myra just looking scornful and as hot as ever.

What did he mean "she deserved better"? Draco wondered to himself. He turned to see Myra looking at him scornfully. "What?" he asked her, exasperated.

"So who is this other girl Potter was talking about?" she asked coldly, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair before speaking. "I told you I was Slytherin Prince since Fourth year. She was my Princess, but there was an accident over the summer and she died." he explained bluntly. "Potter's just mad because he was rather fond of her and because he probably thought that I loved her." he smiled crookedly at Myra. "But that girl had nothing on you."

"Oh really?" Myra asked, raising her eyebrows again. She took a step closer to Draco and leered.

"Nothing." Draco affirmed. "I could love no one as much as I love you." he whispered.

"Mmmmm." Myra murmured as she threaded her arms around Draco's shoulders and their lips met.

"Mmmmm hmmm." Draco confirmed against Myra's lips. They stayed that way for a while, only breaking apart for quick, gasped breath.

"There's someone coming." Myra murmured.

"Don't care." Draco muttered, capturing her lips again. He listened as voices could be heard coming closer, one of them seeming oddly familiar. "Although maybe we should get back to our dorm. It's almost curfew." he murmured.

Myra nodded and they quickly hurried down a dimly lit corridor that would eventually lead to the dungeons. They just rounded the corner as two people came into view.

"And the Dark Lord didn't tell you anything?" the dark haired man asked.

"No. The girl must have given him his information." his blonde haired companion replied.

"I don't know what we're going to do about that girl, Lucius." Snape said with concern.

"Can't we just kill her and be done with it?" Lucius asked savagely. Snape sighed, shaking his head.

"It's not as simple as that Lucius." he replied.

"Why not?" Lucius shot back quickly, giving the potion's master a look.

"Because she's with your son!" Snape growled angrily. "Draco's in danger."

Lucius stopped suddenly, staring at Snape with wide eyes. "But Nellie..." he whispered, "she'll protect him."

Snape turned around to look at his companion. He could see the blatant worry in the blonde's eyes. "She may not be able to protect him. Your son has a mind of his own." he said quietly. "I'm afraid that even Nellie won't be safe from the wrath of Myra Potter. That girl has it in for her."

The two talked quietly for a few moments. "Is the Dark Lord still suspicious?" Lucius finally asked Snape. Snape shook his head.

"I don't believe so, but he has been more careful in what he tells me lately." Snape answered. His head jerked up in surprise as he heard quiet footsteps. Lucius opened his mouth to speak, but Snape silenced him, pressing a finger against his lips. They listened in silence as the footsteps came closer.

In one swift movement Lucius pulled Snape into a darker side corridor. They looked around the wall to see a cloaked figure slip through the door that led to the dungeons. Snape watched them closely, he recognized that walk. Lucius raised a questioning eyebrow to him and Snape nodded, mouthing "Myra".

Lucius's eyes got wide and they watched in silence as she walked quietly across the hall and slipped out the front door. When it had closed with a thunk behind her, Lucius finally let out the breath he had been holding. "What's she doing?" he hissed at Snape.

Snape just stood there, shaking his head, mouth agape. "Probably going to our Lord." he murmured after a few minutes of silence.

"About what?" Lucius asked him, stepping back into the main hall.

Snape shrugged. "I'm not sure, but there's something you need to see." he said quickly. Together he and Lucius swept up flights of stairs and down shadowy corridors towards the Hospital Wing. By now it couldn't be much earlier than 11 o'clock at night, and the two men only encountered a few straggling students making their way to their respective common rooms.

Snape pressed a finger to his lips as they approached the Infirmary's doors. Silently they opened the doors and sneaked inside. It was dark and only a few of the beds had inhabitants, the moonlight washing over their blanketed bodies. The two men swept down the row of beds, but Severus did not see what he was looking for. They got to the end and Lucius looked at Snape, wondering what he wanted to show him. He was surprised to see Severus's eyes threatening tears, his face etched with worry and his mouth a thin line.

Both men whirled around as they heard a soft gasp behind them. Madam Pomfrey looked at the two with frightened eyes until she realized who they were. "Severus, Lucius." she whispered, nodding to the men. "What are you doing here?"

"Is Nellie-er-Natalya still here?" Lucius murmured back, eyes darting around the beds, as if the one they were looking for would suddenly appear.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "She left over an hour ago. I told her she should stay longer, but she was adamant she was fine. What's this about Severus?" she asked quietly.

Snape shook his head lightly. "Nothing of any importance anymore." he answered cryptically. "Do you know where she went?" he asked the healer. Madam Pomfrey shook her head. Snape looked over at Lucius, about to say something when pain ripped through his left arm. He bit the inside of his mouth to keep from crying out.

Snape looked over to Lucius and saw his jaw set, shoulders tense, his hand clutching at his left arm. He looked back at Madam Pomfrey and saw her giving them a questioning look. "Thank you for your time Madam. We'll bother you no longer." he said through gritted teeth before dragging Lucius out of the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey was left wondering what exactly was going on.

From the window of his office Dumbledore watched in silence as a tall blonde man and a slightly shorter dark haired man walked through the gates outside of Hogwarts and apperated once on the other side. He sighed and turned to look at the women next to him.

"What is it Albus?" McGonagall asked softly. Dumbledore turned to look out at the grounds again.

"It's started." he said so softly McGonagall had to strain to hear him. Minerva raised her eyebrows slightly at him.

"What's started?" she asked. "What does it all mean?" Dumbledore turned to walk over to his pensive and McGonagall shadowed behind him.

Albus stared into its depths, but only swirling mist was visible to him. He sighed again. "It means the beginning of the end is soon to be upon us."

* * *

><p><strong>"Where?" Blaise asked Harry, voice wavering in fear.<strong>

** Harry's smirk widened. "I think your dorm will suffice." He said, watching as Blaise's eyes widened and his cheeks turned a faint pink.**


	13. Chapter 12: Within Your Grasp

**YAY NEW CHAPTER! SO SO SO SO SO sorry it took so long... *sigh* things have been busy and I've been having quite a lot of trouble with the chapter after this and I didn't want to upload this one until I at least started the next one so... here we go. **

**Thank you crazed-slash-fan for your review! I can't express just how much I love you 3 Hopefully you like this chapter because it was loads of fun to write! :) **

**To anyone else reading this story PLEASE review. They make me happy :D and then maybe I won't be lazy and I'll actually write new chapter in a more timely fashion. Also, I need ideas for character pairing Halloween costumes...so any ideas would be nice! I need ones for Blaise/Harry, Pansy/Crabbe, Natalya/Liam, and Myra/Draco. Also, just a heads up, but I hope by now everyone has realized that Natalya and Nellie are the same person. So from now on I'll be using the two names interchangably depending on the situation, so just remember that they refer to the same girl. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter, shocker I know. I also don't own cliff-hangers, weird bonds between people, hard to write accents, or torture-ish scenes.**

**Warning: Still slash...although not the most slash-ful chapter :( I apologize for that... **

**ENJOY! :D and please REVIEW! they make this story continue... *hint* *hint* **

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: Within Your Grasp<strong>

In Riddle Manor Voldemort paced, waiting. The teen leaning against the wall besides him grinned triumphantly as a girl appeared at Voldemort's feet.

With one swift movement Voldemort hauled Natalya to her feet and slammed her against the wall at the head of the room. Natalya hissed as iron chains slinked around her arms, pinning her to the stone. She lifted her head up, staring Voldemort hard in the eyes. "To what do I owe this pleasure, My Lord." she drawled, stressing the last word snidely.

Voldemort smacked her hard across the face and Natalya gasped, glaring at him. "You know very well why you're here." Voldemort hissed coldly. Natalya just glared at him harder, before flicking her gaze over to where Myra still stood against the wall. Voldemort sneered at her. "There have been some accusations against you again Nellie." he snarled. "And I plan to settle your loyalties once and for all."

From the doors along the walls came hood figures, gliding silently into the room. Death Eaters. Natalya looked around at them, smirking. "And from which of these cowards do these accusations come from?" she drawled. Voldemort looked on the verge of slapping her again, but refrained when she didn't so much as flinch.

A hooded figure stepped out of the Death Eaters, striding up to where Voldemort stood. They pulled down their hood, grinning maliciously at Natalya, who glared fiercely at the heavily hooded dark eyes. "I did." Bellatrix Lestrange said.

Natalya sneered at her, though she was watching Voldemort cautiously. "And what are your accusations against me?" she said coldly.

Bellatrix's eyes lit up with a crazy gleam. "You saved Potter!" she crowed, pointing an accusing finger at Natalya. There was a ripple of murmurs through the surrounding Death Eaters.

"No I didn't." Natalya retorted easily.

Voldemort smacked her across the face again, harder this time. "Don't lie to me!" he shouted. "Bellatrix says YOU'RE the reason Potter's not mine!"

Natalya practically hissed at Voldemort. "I was saving ZABINI not Potter, you insolent bitch!" she yelled at Bellatrix, eyes blazing.

Bellatrix looked taken aback at her fury, not expecting her to fight back. "You saving that...BOY cost us Potter!" she shouted back at Natalya.

Voldemort waved a hand for Bellatrix to shut up. As amusing as it was to see those two go at each other, he really did have a serious job to do. He walked slowly forwards and saw Natalya stiffen against the chains as he drew nearer.

"And why were you jeopardizing our victory for this Zabini boy?" he hissed quietly, eyes cold.

Natalya stared at him, expression unyielding. "His family is strong in the Ministry. If you kill their son they will never support you. I believe they will be a useful ally in the war." she lied easily.

Voldemort stared at her for a moment. He could tell she wasn't telling him everything, but he saw as her eyes flicked towards Bellatrix and he understood why. "Very well." he said, turning back to the other Death Eaters. "Does anyone else have any accusations to bring forth?" he asked dangerously, almost challenging someone to step forward.

There was a pause of silence, then a ripple of murmurs as Myra moved foreword from where she had been leaning against the wall. "I do." she said, smirking at Natalya. Natalya's eyes grew wide; she knew this girl would not let her talk her way out of it this time.

"And what, Ms. Potter, do you say?" Voldemort said coldly.

"This girl," Myra said loudly, pointing her finger at Natalya. "is lying. She wants to ruin Bella's standing in order to help Potter!"

Voldemort looked at Myra for a moment. "And how do you know this?" he said quietly.

"I was watching the fight. She stopped Bellatrix from getting Potter, put a shield up around him. She tried her best to kill Bellatrix as well." Myra said calmly, smirking widely at Natalya again.

Voldemort whirled around, backhanding Natalya across the face again, the jeweled rings he wore finally cutting into her skin. Her head lolled foreword and he yanked her up to look at him by the hair. "Is this true!" he shouted.

Natalya stared at him defiantly. "Yes, I tried to kill her." she said calmly. Voldemort roared in anger, drawing his wand and pointing it at her throat.

"CRUCIO!" he shouted. Natalya bit her lips until they bled to keep from screaming in pain, her body twitching against the chains that bound her. Voldemort removed the curse and sneered at Natalya. "I see you'll be harder to break this time." he hissed.

"You have HER to thank for that!" Natalya spat at him, panting, jerking her head towards where Bellatrix stood.

Voldemort raised his wand again, watching as Natalya's muscles tensed, her eyes widening imperceptibly. He lowered it slowly, watching her wearily. "What do you mean?" he said quietly, voice unfeeling. Natalya remained silent, chest heaving. "Answer me!" Voldemort yelled, flicking his wand so that the chains burned red hot before slinking off her.

Natalya fell to the ground and Voldemort yanked her head up. "She sold me to the ministry." she said quietly. Voldemort looked at her, his handsome face unyielding.

"What?" he asked, neither shocked nor angered.

Natalya looked him hard in the eyes. "She sold me to the ministry. SHE'S the reason they captured me! SHE TOLD THEM YOUR SECRET!" she shouted, eyes blazing.

In one movement Voldemort whirled around, wand drawn, causing Bellatrix to fall to the ground, screaming. He walked over to her and in a moment black bonds encircled her wrists and ankles. He heaved her to her feet with a growl, dragging her to one of the side doors. "Lucius, Severus, clean Nellie up." he shouted angrily over his shoulder, throwing Bellatrix into the room. "Put her in my bedroom, I'll be there shortly. After I deal with this...traitor." he spat.

The door slammed behind him and screams started up from within the room. The Death Eaters were silent, listening to the shouts and yells. Myra was glaring daggers at Natalya, who stared back undaunted from where she lay on the ground.

Lucius and Snape stepped out from their spots along the wall, striding up to Natalya. Lucius swiftly picked her up in his arms and together they left the room, the Death Eaters quietly murmuring around them.

The two men brought Natalya through the halls of the manor until they stopped before a large, black wood door. Snape slid the latch over and the door swung open. They walked into a huge, dark bedchamber. Once they crossed the threshold flames flared up in the candle brackets along the walls, dimly lighting the chambers.

Lucius laid Natalya down gently on the giant four-posted bed, complete with plush, down feather pillows and lavish silks. Gently, he unclasped her cloak, leaving her in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Snape took out his wand, running it gently along the welts in her arms.

He muttered under his breath until all that was left were light scars etched into her skin. Then Snape moved on to the jagged cuts on her face, taking a small jar out of his robes pocket. Natalya hissed in pain, trying to move her face away as he spread the ointment gently. Lucius held her head still as Snape finished, the slashes smoking slightly as the skin healed, though the cuts were still fairly red.

"Thanks." Natalya whispered when Snape set the jar down on the nightstand.

"Would you like us to stay?" Lucius asked quietly, gently brushing some stray hairs off of her face. Natalya shook her head.

"You need to tell Dumbledore what happened." she said softly. "And Harry. Tell him I'm alright."

Snape nodded, he would relay that message despite the agony it would cause him. "He won't...hurt you, will he?" he asked worriedly.

Natalya shook her head uncertainly. "I don't think so...I'm not sure if he can bring himself to hurt me. We'll just have to see." she shut her eyes and rolled over on her side. Lucius stood looking at her for a moment before turning around and walking back to the door.

Snape kneeled down next to her. "I expect to see you in class tomorrow." he said sternly. She understood the implication.

She nodded, smiling. "Wouldn't miss it." With one last nod Snape and Lucius left, the door shutting silently behind them.

:::::::::

Draco woke up suddenly. The last thing he remembered was making out with Myra on his bed, and the next thing he knew he was dreaming about HER. Nellie. Only this time it wasn't a nightmare. This time she didn't try to kill him, and this time she didn't die.

With a sigh Draco rolled over to look at Myra's bed. He jolted upright when he saw it was empty. Noticing a small piece of parchment lying on the pillow, Draco walked over to snatch it up.

Draco-

I couldn't sleep, so I've gone down to the kitchens to get some food. I may take a walk. See you in the morning!  
>Hugs and Kisses, Myra<p>

He read. Draco smiled, she was fine. Here he was momentarily thinking she was sneaking around behind his back. _No_, he thought, _Myra could never betray me._

_:::::::::_

Myra stood outside the room where Voldemort was with Bellatrix. From what she heard Voldemort was very displeased, and Bellatrix was paying for it. Sure Myra felt bad for the woman, but it was her own fault for letting Nellie talk her way out of Voldemort's wrath.

Thinking of Nellie, Myra pressed her ear to the door and her hearing was promptly assaulted by curses and screams. It seemed as though Bellatrix's punishment would go on for some time still. Myra smirked and slipped out of the door Lucius and Snape had gone out of.

She trudged silently down the corridors until she found the large, dark door that every Death Eater knew led to Voldemort's bedchambers. It was a place a Death Eater didn't dare venture unless their Lord permitted it.

With a look around for any wandering Death Eaters, Myra opened the door and slipped through, closing it silently behind her. She looked around in awe at the magnificent room with its walk-in fireplace, silver furnishings, and what looked to be overly cushy couches and chairs.

Smirking, Myra's eyes fell on the girl lying in the middle of the gigantic four-poster bed. She walked over silently to see Nellie's eyes closed, her breathing deep. _Too easy_, Myra thought, drawing her wand.

She pointed it at the sleeping teen, thinking. Maim and then kill? Or just kill? With a grin Myra pointed her wand at Natalya. "Sectumsempra!" she said. A flash of light shot out the end of her wand straight at the other girl. When it reached the bed it ricocheted off an invisible shield and Myra had to throw herself to the ground to avoid getting hit.

With a snarl Myra scrambled off the floor and marched over to the bed. If she couldn't kill that GIRL with magic then she would just throttle the little whelp! With a cry she threw herself at Nellie just to be thrown back as she hit an invisible force.

Voldemort! She cursed. She should've known he would put protective spells around his bed. He wasn't stupid! Cursing, Myra picked herself off the floor and slipped silently back out the door, she could hear voices moving closer down the hall. Revenge would have to wait.

:::::::::

Voldemort left Bellatrix bleeding and unconscious on the room's floor. She was still alive of course; he wasn't about to kill one of his most loyal servants. Hopefully now she would remember that NO ONE betrayed him, or Nellie.

Voldemort smiled softly as he thought of his silver-haired temptress. He really hadn't wanted to hurt her, but some things just couldn't go unpunished. With a last look at Bellatrix's unmoving body he swept out of the room and through the darkened halls to his bedchambers.

Pausing outside the door, Voldemort took a deep breath. In his fury he had forgotten just what it would mean if he lost Nellie. Yes, he would lose the war, but it wasn't just that. As hard as it was to believe, Voldemort did care somewhat for her, or at least more than he did for anyone else. Her power excited him, but it also scared him. He knew deep down that if she wanted to she could kill him, he just didn't know why she hadn't yet.

With a begrudging sigh Voldemort pushed open the door and walked inside his darkened chambers. With a flick of his wand the candles were lit and by their flickering light he could see the outline of Nellie curled up in his bed.

"Nellie?" he whispered, walking over to where she lay. He jolted slightly as his gaze met her glowing amber eyes.

"Yes, My Lord?" she sneered. "Come to finish me off have you?"

Voldemort sat down next to her on the side of the bed. "No. I've-I've come to say sorry." he said through gritted teeth.

Nellie laughed cruelly. "The great Lord Voldemort saying sorry!" she sneered. "You're not sorry Tom. You just can't face the prospect of me leaving you. Luckily for you I can't. You made sure of that!" she snarled, eyes glowing with hatred.

Voldemort growled darkly, grabbing the collar of her robes. "You're lucky to have me, you wench!" he hissed. "You're lucky I've protected you from the ministry!"

Nellie laughed again. "You've PROTECTED me!?" she shrieked, her anger getting the better of her. "Is that what you call your own minion selling me to them so they could torture me? And about YOUR whereabouts nonetheless!" she shouted, chest heaving. "Sometimes I wish I would've killed you when I had the chance." she whispered.

Voldemort looked at her coldly. "You'll regret saying that." he hissed. He got up, yanking her off the bed with him. "Remember who owns you." He captured her lips in a brutal, rough kiss. "You belong to ME!" he growled before throwing her to the floor and walking out. The door slammed shut behind him.

Nellie lay on the ground, panting, teeth bared in anger. "I belong to no one." she hissed.

:::::::::

Harry sat alone in the Room of Requirement, trying to make sense of what he had learned. It didn't make sense. With a shake of his head and a mental promise to figure it out later, Harry left the room of requirement and made his way up to Gryffindor tower.

The moment Harry's head hit his pillow he was asleep, dreaming of secret meetings and chocolate brown eyes.

Harry awoke to sunlight streaming into his eyes and a bright red head of hair shouting at him excitedly. "HARRY!" Ron shouted. "You're back!"

Harry nodded groggily and sat up, reaching for his glasses. In a moment the world came back into focus and Harry could see the other boys in his dorm were up and all seemed to be staring at him. "Hey you guys." he murmured at them sleepily, yawning widely.

"So Harry," Seamus said, grinning cheekily at him. "where were you last night?" the other boys laughed and nodded to a chorus of "yeah Harry", "Who was it Harry", and "tell us, tell us!"

Harry groaned and buried his head in his hands. He should have known his dorm mates would notice his absence.

"Well isn't it obvious." Neville spoke up. "He was with Zabini." The rest of the Gryffindors turned to look at Neville in shock. "What?" he said, rather perplexed.

"Well Harry, where you?" Seamus asked, intrigued, bouncing up and down on his bed. The other boys turned back to Harry, eyes shining and Harry blushed again.

"No actually." He answered, noticing the shocked expression that stayed on Ron's face.

"WHAT!" Ron shouted, falling to the floor in surprise. "But-but then…WHO?!" he gasped. Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend and sighed; there would be no talking out of this one.

"I was talking to Natalya if you must know." He stated bluntly. Ron shrieked again and flopped on the floor.

"A GIRL!" Seamus yelled, mouth gaping. "But-but what about-"

"I wasn't WITH her or anything!" Harry protested. "She was with us when we were attacked two days ago. She wanted to talk about it." He explained. Seamus did not look convinced, but the boys let the subject drop. "Anyways, are we going down to breakfast or not?" he asked. Ron nodded frantically, making the rest of the boys chuckle and get moving.

Harry laughed slightly to himself as he rolled out of bed and got his clothes from his trunk. Count of his friends to be worried that he would suddenly stop going after the Italian Slytherin. About thirty minutes later, after a shower, an attempt at getting his hair to lie flat, and much time spent badgering Neville to actually get out of bed, the group of Gryffindor boys finally made their entrance into the Common Room. There they were joined by Hermione, Ginny, and to Harry's great surprise, Natalya. She smirked at him, quirking an eyebrow and Harry raised one back, asking a silent question. Natalya shook her head slightly and followed the boys out of the Common Room silently.

Blaise was sitting quietly, not having spoken a word to his fellow Slytherins yet that morning when he saw the group of Gryffindors enter the Great Hall. He sighed softly; Potter was always surrounded by a group of friends, and it made it very hard for Blaise to get him alone. Practically impossible actually. "Blaise!" A voice interrupted his musings.

"Huh? Wha?" Blaise uttered, his gaze never leaving the group of Gryffindors who had just sat down at their table.

"You're starring at Potter again." Pansy warned, giving Blaise a look. Blaise shook his head, pulling his eyes away from the Gryffindors. He gave Pansy a look before starting in on the food of his plate, which had not been touched yet.

"Blaise." A voice came from just behind Blaise's right shoulder. He quickly turned around to see Natalya smiling, suppressing laughter at his shocked expression.

"Come to finally join us?" Malfoy said snidely. "Finally tired of your little Gryffindork friends?" he smirked.

Natalya smirked back at him. "Yes," she drawled. "The lions can get overtly tiresome after good time." She slid into the seat next to Blaise, across from Malfoy and Myra. "They really have the most mundane of lives. I really have no idea what you see in Potter Blaise, although he rather nice to look at." Blaise started, scowling at her.

"Yes he is, and I'd love if you did not talk about my, well I suppose he isn't my boyfriend yet, but I do hope him to be eventually." Blaise said, turning to glare at Natalya. She grinned back and Blaise realized she had just been playing with him. "How are you such good friends with that lot anyways? I didn't think they trusted us snakes." He asked her, quickly changing the subject.

"I appealed to Potter's sense of hate." Natalya said with a fleeting glance at Draco, who missed it completely. "And I do believe he has a soft spot for at least one snake in particular." She said with a smile and a wiggle of her eyebrows at Blaise. Blaise blushed and nodded, smiling happily.

"Yes I guess you could say he has a soft spot for me." Blaise said with a laugh. "And I him." He finished, almost dreamily. Natalya chortled to herself and turned to look up at the staff table. Severus Snape was starring at her and Natalya met his gaze, nodding slightly. A rare smile graced Snape's lips for a fleeting moment before it fell back to his normal mask of snide disinterest and he nodded slightly back, eyes never leaving Natalya's face. Natalya watched as Dumbledore nudged Snape's elbow slightly and the black eyes left hers as the Potion's Master turned to speak with the headmaster. She could tell Snape was relieved and somewhat glad to see her…alive.

"So where were you last night?" Draco drawled, raising an eyebrow and pulling Natalya's gaze away from the head table.

"That's none of your business." Natalya replied coldly, eyes challenging Draco to question her again.

Instead of pressing the matter as Natalya expected, Draco smirked at her and turned to Liam who sat a few seats down from him. "Hey Winters." He drawled, still smirking. "You hear that? Natalya wasn't in the Snake Pit last night. Looks like you might have been left for someone better."

"Malfoy. Shut. Up." Natalya growled, glaring daggers. "This has nothing to do with Liam."

"Quite the contrary, Nat." Draco said, using the nickname he knew annoyed her to no end. "I do believe it's in Winter's best interest to know where you were last night. Don't you want to know Liam?" He asked, looking down the table at the other Slytherin.

Liam glanced at Natalya before smirking widely at Draco. "Oh I don't WANT to know, Draco." He drawled. "I already do know."

Draco raised an eyebrow at him. "Then tell me what you know. Tell us all." He openly challenged. Liam glanced at Natalya again, seeing the confusion in her gaze. She had expected to see anger or something like it on his face, not this open amusement and…could that be knowing? _What's he doing?_ She wondered, studying Liam's face. _He can't actually know…can he?_

"She was with me." Liam answered with cocked eyebrow and a leer. Natalya blushed, covering her face, playing along.

"You?" Draco asked in slight amusement, raising his eyebrows again. "And where were you two then?"

Liam glanced at Natalya again, hoping she would understand what he was doing. "Room of Requirement." He answered, saying the first thing that popped into his head.

"And what were you doing?" Draco asked, trying to trip Liam up in what to Draco was a transparent web of lies.

"What do you think we were doing?" Liam shot back, challenging. "Now if you would excuse me." He said, standing up. "I do believe I'm going. I do not need to stay here and be wrongly interrogated about what I do at night. Those activities are for Natalya and I to know—and us only." He turned to look at Natalya. "Care to join me?" he offered.

Natalya shook her head, but stood up. "I do believe I will be going back to the Lions. They're much better than sitting here with this lot." She said with a gesture and sneer at Malfoy. She turned to Blaise, her anger getting the better of her. "Things might not go as planned with Potter. If this is the case you have him to blame." She pointed at Draco before turning on her heel and stalking off to the Gryffindor table.

Draco watched her walk away and felt a strange feeling in his chest—something almost like, could it be regret? Draco shook the feeling off and turned with a smirk to Myra. "Who needs them." He drawled. "I think we know who the real leaders of Slytherin House are." He stated, wrapping an arm around Myra. The Slytherins around him laughed, some clapping. Neither him nor Myra saw the flash of anger and malicious grin that appeared for just a moment on Theodore Nott's face.

"Ugh." Harry heard from behind him just before a body flopped dramatically into the seat next to his. "I hate those snakes." Harry turned to see Natalya scowling, she almost looked like she was pouting, and broke out laughing. "What's so funny?" Natalya demanded, crossing her arms and continuing to scowl dramatically.

"Oh nothing." Harry said with a laugh. "It's just that…well YOU'RE a snake!" he burst out laughing again and Ron rolled his eyes at Natalya before punching Ron in the arm. "Argh! Ron!" Harry exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder and glaring playfully at his best friend. "What'd you do that for?!"

"You're laughing hysterically mate, it's beginning to worry me." Ron said. "Plus I do believe you're hurting Natalya's feelings." He said with a small smile at the Slytherin girl. She smiled back and Ron smiled at her in earnest.

Harry watched the exchange with interest. "Well it's good to see you two are getting along better." He said. "I apologize." He turned to Natalya, grabbing her hand in a dramatic fashion. "I do hope you will forgive me!" he exclaimed, clasping his other hand over hers.

"Oh give me a break." Ron sighed with another roll of his eyes as Natalya giggled. "Why you two are always so dramatic I'll never understand." He grumbled, spearing a sausage and chewing it forcefully.

"What's the fun in a life without drama?" Natalya said with a grin. "It makes life interesting."

"So what have the snakes done this time to get you all riled up?" Hermione asked, looking over her book at them, having been listening to every word they uttered.

"Oh the usual." Natalya said with a roll of her eyes. "Trying to interrogate me as to my whereabouts last night." She grinned at Harry, who winked back at her, grinning. "And Draco just wouldn't mind his own bloody business."

Harry nodded, since when had that blonde prat ever minded his own business? He looked at Natalya's eyes to see a burning anger reflected in them. "You didn't tell him you were with me, did you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Natalya shook her head. "Liam covered for me, nice kid." She answered airily. "Anyways I guess I had better be going, Snape wanted to see me before class." She stood up, downing a glass of Pumpkin Juice and finishing the rest of her pastry. "See you." She bid them loftily before turning to stride out of the Great Hall. Harry watched as the doors closed behind her and turned to glance at the Slytherin table. He scowled as he watched Malfoy pull Myra closer and kiss her; that prat deserved Nellie's vengeance. His gaze drifted over to Blaise Zabini and he studied the contours of the Italian's beautiful features. He already regretted somehow making the Slytherin leave the Hospital Wing—it was quite plain to see that Harry had somehow insulted the Italian and he really needed to make amends with Blaise as quickly as possible.

:::::::::

Snape sat, lounging in his chair in his office when he heard the rap on his door. "Come in." he said, voice loud in the silent room. Natalya slipped into the room, brown hair swirling down her back. "Ahhh, Nellie, I'm happy to see you present today." He said with a nod, keeping up the formal charade.

Natalya laughed softly. "Always the teacher aren't you Severus?" she mused. "You sent for me?" she asked, walking over to sit in the black leather chair across from Snape's.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." Snape said simply, meeting Natalya's eyes.

"I'm fine. It takes more than a few spells to get rid of me, Sev." She said, using Snape's unloved nickname.

Snape sighed and nodded. "I know, but there have been serious accusations on your life, Nellie. And that girl…"

"Myra." Natalya stated knowingly.

"That girl's a piece of work." Snape said with another sigh. "And the Dark Lord trusts her, unfortunately. I was pretty surprised when he didn't kill her the moment she brought up her doubts about you. That's what happened last time someone-"

"Yes, yes I know. Voldemort has started to doubt my loyalty, and I'm afraid I may be falling out of his favor." Natalie interrupted Snape softly.

"I still do not understand it. Surely the Dark Lord still needs you and your power. Surely he still, so called 'cares' for you, right?" Snape asked darkly. Natalya's brow creased as she thought, there was no easy answer to that question.

"I'm…not sure. He's weary of me for sure; he knows that if I wanted to I could kill him." She answered.

"Then why haven't you?" Snape wondered.

"Because I can't, it's not what I'm meant to do." She answered simply. "But we should not be worrying about Voldemort's view of me quite yet. We have other things to be weary of. Like Myra and Draco."

Snape nodded. "Do you think she has it in for the boy?" he asked. Natalya shook her head. "Good, his father was concerned of that. And you will not hurt him?"

"It is not in my plan." Natalya answered. "Myra, however, must die. But we can't kill her just yet."

"Why not?" Snape shot at her.

"Because, she has too much power with the Death Eaters—they fear her. Also, we must figure out what she's up to, it could mean victory in the battle to come." Natalya answered as she stood. "But first I'm going to beat her in her own game, and take my rightful position as head of Slytherin." She walked to the door. "See you in class Professor." She grinned widely.

"Good luck Ms. Hope." Snape said with a smile as Natalya slipped out of his office door. "You're going to need it."

:::::::::

Blaise was standing just outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, waiting, when he heard the most glorious voice coming from the corridor behind him. He turned quickly to see none other than Harry Potter walking down the hall, Ron and Hermione trailing on either side of him. Blaise frowned slightly as he remembered the last time he had talked to Harry; he wondered if the boy still liked him, or if that had all been a ruse.

Harry looked up as he and his friends approached their classroom and saw the beautiful Blaise Zabini. He watched as a frown settled on the other boy's face and felt a pang of regret in his chest—he still hadn't made amends for the last time he had spoken with the dark-skinned boy. Things had been too hectic with Nellie and all that for him to steal some time away from his friends to find the Slytherin. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, who seemed to be deep into some discussion of theirs Harry hadn't really been paying attention to. He figured they wouldn't miss him until the beginning of class.

"Zabini." Harry whispered, sidling up to Blaise. The dark boy started and turned to look at Harry, mouth open slightly. Harry could resist gazing that those gorgeous, full lips of his.

"Potter." Blaise whispered back. "How are you?" he asked. Harry was slightly surprised by the question, but he hauled forth none the less.

"I'm fine, a bit sore still, but fine. And how are you?" Harry asked cordially. He figured the best tactic would be to engage the Slytherin in conversation before steering them towards the topic of Blaise saving his life.

"I'm alright." Blaise answered, a touch of sadness leaking into his voice. "Some things are not going as well as I would have liked."

Harry did not need Blaise to explain as to what he meant, he could see the meaning clearly written on Zabini's face. He felt a pang of hurt again as he thought of how he had hurt the other boy. Yes, it had been accidental, but he had hurt Blaise none the less. "Who knows." Harry whispered, smiling slightly. "Maybe they are and you just don't know it." Harry looked up into Blaise's eyes, smiling widely, and the other boy looked back at him in shock and slight confusion.

"What do you-" Blaise began, but was interrupted by the door to the classroom opening and Professor Todd ushering them inside. Harry nodded slightly to Blaise before hurrying inside the classroom, snagging the seat next to Ron and Hermione. Blaise, on the other hand, went across the classroom to sit by Pansy, throwing a perplexed look at Harry as he passed the Gryffindor boy.

They were about five minutes into class, learning about the affects of bonding spells, when the door opened again and Natalya strode in, face down turned. "Sorry I'm later Professor." She said hurriedly. "I was speaking with Professor Snape."

"It's alrigh' Ms. 'ope, just make sure to be on time tomorrow." Mr. Todd drawled, shooting Natalya a warning look. Natalya just kept her face down and hurried over to the last empty chair—next to Draco Malfoy. Harry watched from across the classroom as Draco glared at her and she glared back. _Oh if only he knew_, Harry thought. _How different things would be. _

"Now, as I was saying, there are many different types of bonds an' other bindin' spells. The most common of which are of course marriage spells, which bond together the two individuals for life, unless they get the spell removed. Marriage bonds are, of course, at the bottom end of all bindin' spells; meanin' that they are the weakest. The strongest of all bondin' spells are blood or aura bonds." Mr. Todd was saying. Harry watched Natalya closely, seeing her shift uncomfortably and glance over at Draco, her left hand playing with the silver circlet around her right wrist. "Today we will be studyin' blood and aura bonds in particular since they are of course the worst of all bindings an' do not need both parties to be willin' in order to work."

Mr. Todd turned to the chalkboard and waved his wand once over it. Immediately notes began to scrawl themselves down on the board. Harry flipped to the pages indicated on the board and scanned them, eyes widening at the description of what exactly blood binding entailed. Surreptitiously he looked over at Natalya again, who was now scowling quite openly at Malfoy, fingers tapping irritated on the desk.

After a few minutes spent individually reading and taking notes, Natalya's hand flew into the air. "Yes Ms. 'ope?" Mr. Todd called on her.

"Professor, is it possible for a blood bond to dissipate? Like, say one of the individuals no longer wants the bond. Is it possible for them to deny it and for the two people to no longer be bound to each other?" she asked, throwing another look at Draco and raising her eyebrows at Mr. Todd.

"Well Ms. 'ope I 'ave never 'eard of a case such as that one. However, it is possible if say one of the parties seems to 'ave disappeared from the other's life for the bond to weaken, but I do not believe that the bond can completely disappear. Blood bonds should last forever." Mr. Todd explained, giving Natalya a quizzical look which she shook off. The rest of the class by this time was listening, so Mr. Todd decided to continue on with the lesson.

"Now blood bonds can be created a few very different ways, but the most common of which is for the two groups involved to mark each other with their own blood in some symbol of power of their choosing. Then the binding spell must be cast an' afterwards the two parties normally exchange somethin' as a sign of their bondin'." Mr. Todd explained quickly, swishing his wand so that drawings of what he was saying appeared on the board. "Read the next few pages on Aura bondin' now." He directed.

Harry flipped the pages and read again, mind reeling in shock once he had finished ten minutes later. It really was terrible stuff. From what he could gather from the text Aura bonding was when a wizard literally tore another wizard's aura apart and entwined a piece of that aura into their own. It was the darkest of magic because it literally bound that person's very life to the other wizard and only that wizard could release them. If the wizard they were bound to died, then they too would die.

Wide eyed, Harry looked over at Natalya, who seemed absorbed in her textbook, hand once again raised in the air. Mr. Todd rolled his eyes. "Yes, Ms. 'ope. Do you 'ave another question?"

"Yes Professor." Natalya smirked, obviously enjoying Mr. Todd's annoyance. "I was just wondering if it is possible for someone to be bound to two people at once. Say if one was by blood and the other by aura, hypothetically of course." She said quickly.

Mr. Todd stared at her for a moment before nodding. "It tis possible Ms. 'ope, though most wizards would be destroyed by it, which is why it tis not normally practiced. Hypothetically of course it tis possible because the two bondin' spells bind different parts of the wizard's magic. Any more questions?" He asked, eyes challenging Natalya to ask something else.

"Yes actually." A drawling voice spoke up from next to Natalya. She turned to look at Malfoy, who was currently smirking widely at her, in shock. "I would like to know what happens if one of the two individuals in a blood bond dies. The bond would disappear, correct?"

"Yes." Mr. Todd said with a nod. "Once a party in any bond dies the bond dissolves and the second person is released."

Draco nodded, that was what he had expected. "But what if one of the people died and the other person can still feel the remnants of the bond, even if it's just a little? Does it take a while for the bond to dissolve?" he asked. Draco knew he was treading on thin ice—if anyone that knew about his and Nellie's bond caught on…well it could most certainly be used against him in some way or another.

"No, Mr. Malfoy, the bond will dissolve immediately an' the alive party will be unable to feel anythin'." Mr. Todd answered him with a shake of his head. "Why," he said with a slight laugh and a gruesome flash of his teeth, "if you're speaking from personal experience then I'd say, Mr. Malfoy, that your bonded partner is very much alive."

"Oh this is all hypothetical of course." Malfoy said quickly, being careful not to look at Potter nor any other part of the Gryffindor Golden Trio.

"Of course." Mr. Todd said with a nod before moving on with the rest of the lesson. For the rest of class they took notes on how to perform binding spells and the steps that it took in order to create an Aura bond. By the end of the class Natalya was slowly steaming, glowering with a ferocity that really scared Harry at Draco, who pretended not to notice. When the bell rang Natalya jumped out of her seat, punched Malfoy hard in the jaw and ran quickly out of the room before anyone could see the tears streaming down her face.

:::::::::

"So we're resuming the DA then?" Harry asked Hermione. She nodded from where she was sitting next to Ron, on the couch across from Harry. "Do you know what the Slytherin's are doing for their unity project?"

Hermione nodded again. "They're writing essays about themselves. We'll start reading a couple a week starting on Halloween. Each house guesses as to who they think the essay was written by and if they get it right they get 100 house points." She explained. Ron rolled his eyes at the stupidity of it.

"Oh so they just have to write essays while we have to organize dueling practice? That hardly seems fair!" Ron complained. Hermione shot him a look and elbowed him in the ribs, making him scowl at her. "I meant 'oh joy! That's a simply marvelous idea!'" he corrected himself sarcastically.

"Much better." Hermione said with a smug smile.

"And what if none of the houses guesses correctly?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then bloody Slytherin gets 250 points." Ron said angrily. "Seriously, if they somehow lie and cheat to get extra house points then I'm going to-"

"Don't worry Ron." Hermione interrupted his start of a rant with a roll of her eyes. "Our friend Natalya is helping Parkinson with the essays. I helped her design a little, well, surprise if any of the Slytherins tries to lie. It won't be pretty." She cackled with an evil glint to her eye. Both Ron and Harry looked fairly frightened. Hermione coughed, blushing slightly. "Anyways, the Ravenclaws are setting up study sessions, but those won't start until end of the year Exams, so there's no need to worry about that yet. And the Hufflepuffs…well quite frankly I have no idea what they're doing. They explained it quite thoroughly at the Prefect's Meeting, but you know those Hufflepuffs. It was quite hard to follow, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with monthly parties that students will be anonymously invited to, they'll have no idea where it will be held, or who's going to it and there will be games. As I said, not the clearest of plans." Hermione explained with a snort.

Harry gave Hermione a weird look, which she shook off. "So, have you two decided what our Ball's theme is going to be?" he asked. "It's on Halloween isn't it?"

Once again Hermione nodded that he was right. "Yes it is, so clearly it is going to be a costume party. I wanted the costumes to have to be created without magic, but Ron here" she shot Ron an un-amused look, "wouldn't stand for that. Instead we are making a rule that you must go paired with another costume wise, no matter who they are, and that you have to change your face. This way no one will be able to tell what house anyone else is in, which will hopefully add to our attempt at between-house unity." She explained to Harry while Ron nodded helpfully next to her.

"Interesting." Harry said with a wide grin. He knew who he would hopefully be going with, and what fun that would be! "So I presume that you two will be going together?" he asked with a sly grin.

Hermione blushed lightly as Ron grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Why yes, yes we are, and Hermione here wants to go as house elves." He said with a good natured roll of his eyes.

"Which reminds me." Hermione said with a small smile and subtle wink at Harry. "We should go work on the designs for our costumes right now." She said quickly, standing up and pulling Ron with her.

"Okay, but why right-" Ron began, letting Hermione pull him up to the Dormitory stairs.

"See you Harry, I presume around dinner or later!" Hermione called over her shoulder. "Oh and I hear Blaise is in the Slytherin common room." She said quickly as she pulled Ron up the stairs and out of sight.

Harry laughed softly to himself and his friends left. Hermione really was brilliant at picking up hints, even when he didn't drop any. Looking around the Common Room, Harry quickly slipped out of the Portrait Hole and wandered through the corridors until he found the entrance to the dungeons. For a moment he thought that it might have been a good idea to bring his invisibility cloak and sneak past the Slytherins until he found Blaise, but upon contemplation he decided that his entrance into the Slytherin's lair would be much more dramatic this way.

He walked quickly and quietly through the dungeons, ducking out of sight whenever he heard footsteps, until he reached the section of wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin's Common Room. Harry stepped back into the shadows, thinking. There had to be a way for him to learn the password without needing an actual Slytherin. His gaze fell on a portrait hanging on the wall across from the entrance and smirked.

"Excussse me." Harry hissed, in parseltongue of course. The snake around the woman in the portrait's neck lifted its head to look at Harry.

"Yessss?" It hissed back.

"I'm sssorry to bother you, but I need a favor…"

About two minutes later Harry grinned in triumph; he had the password. "Thanksss." He hissed to the snake.

"Don't mention it." He snake said with a wink, before resting it's head on the woman's shoulder again.

Harry muttered the password under his breath and grinned triumphantly again as a door appeared in the wall and opened. Success. Smirking, Harry stepped through the door and into the Slytherin's lair. Harry looked around—it was exactly as he had remembered it, even the greenish, watery lighting was the same. He heard gasps at his appearance and his smirk widened. Harry looked around at the faces that all had turned toward him, most lined with shock and walked forwards, stopping next to the fireplace where his face was then thrown into shadows. "Well this is a nice surprise." He drawled, quite enjoying himself as he gauged the Slytherin's reaction.

"P-Potter?!" Blaise gasped, looking up in shock and alarm at the sound of Harry's voice. "H-how-how did you-"

Harry laughed, smirking once again as he saw Draco Malfoy turn to glare at him angrily and Natalya flashed him a broad smile. "How do you thhhink?" he hissed in parseltongue.

Blaise shivered when he heard Harry hiss. The fact that the Gryffindor Golden boy could speak the language of snakes was very disturbing… and Blaise found it to be quite erotic. He could already feel himself becoming aroused and the boy hadn't even spoken a full-length sentence.

"Yes, but what are you doing here Potter?" Natalya drawled with a raise of her eyebrows. Harry glanced at her to see a smile flick across her face before returning to a look of cool disinterest. "Looking for Blaissse?" she hissed at him, grinning as Malfoy jerked and spun around in shock at hearing her speak the language of the snakes.

Harry grinned at her and nodded before settling his gaze on Blaise, a ferocious smile spreading across his face. He walked forward and up to the chair where Blaise sat. "Zabini." He said coolly.

"Potter." Blaise replied, eyes wide. Harry couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Every single one of their conversations seemed to start off this way.

"I need to talk to you." Harry stated, deciding to cut to the chase. He figured he might as well, he HAD just walked strait through the Slytherin entrance into their common room—there would be no quick and easy way out of this one unless he did what he came to so.

Blaise gazed at him coolly, unimpressed. "Whatever you need to say Potter, you can say it right now." He drawled, leaning lazily back in his armchair. Harry's eyes narrowed; he should have expected this from a Slytherin, but in the past few weeks he had forgotten that Blaise was in fact one of the manipulative snakes. In a second Harry's anger flared up and he got even closer to Blaise, leaning over his chair, both hands on the arms.

"Zabini. You are going to talk to me. Alone." Harry hissed, sparkling eyes boring into Blaise's. Blaise gulped, his cowardice getting the better of him, and nodded his head quickly. Harry smirked and backed up so Blaise could scramble to his feet.

"Where?" Blaise asked Harry, voice wavering in fear.

Harry's smirk widened. "I think your dorm will suffice." He said, watching as Blaise's eyes widened and his cheeks turned a faint pink.

"Alright Potter." Blaise said feebly, pointing with a shaking finger at a staircase that led to the dormitories. Harry grinned and took Blaise by the arm, practically dragging him up the stairs.

"Potter what are you-" The rest of the Slytherins heard Blaise mutter before he disappeared from sight up the stairs.

"Nothing to see here." Natalya called to the assembled masses, who were all still sitting in shock. There was a murmur throughout the room and a couple minutes later the general chatter and activity resumed in the room.

"Really Potter, I don't see why-" Blaise started, trying to talk some sense into the brunette boy, who was currently dragging him at headlong speed up the stairs to Blaise's dorm.

"Shut up Zabini." Harry growled, taking his feeling of complete power and control in stride. He was making up what he was going to do as he was going along and really hadn't planned out what exactly he was going to do once they got to Blaise's dorm yet. That was going to cause some problems pretty quickly if Harry didn't think of something fast.

"But Potter-" Blaise began again.

"I thought I told you to shut up." Harry spat, rather irritated by now since he couldn't form a decent plan when Blaise was talking right next to him. He wracked his brain, but could come up with no good excuse for his odd behavior. Gulping, Harry realized that in this situation a direct approach would probably be best, just as long as Blaise didn't kill him because of it.

"Potter can't you PLEASE tell me what's going on!" Blaise grumbled when they had finally arrived and he had been practically manhandled into his dorm room. He was now sitting sprawled out on the floor while Harry locked the door and turned around, arms folded, wand still in his hand.

"I don't think so." Harry said with a smirk, tapping his wand lightly against his arm. Blaise eyed the wand wearily, not moving from where he was on the floor.

"Why not?" Blaise finally asked after several moments of silence. He winced slightly as Harry's arms unfolded and the brunette snapped his wand menacingly on his outstretched palm, sparks shooting out the end.

"Because Zabini. You and I are going to have a little chat." Harry said, a smug smile on his face. He liked this control he could exert over the other boy; it was good to know that Blaise really was the coward all Slytherin's were supposed to be and Harry was sure he would make great use of that fact later on, preferably soon.

"A-about what, Potter? What is there to talk about?" Blaise said wearily, watching Harry closer. Harry grinned again, chuckling.

"Oh Zabini, I think you know. I think you know exactly what there is to talk about." Harry said casually, walking forward a step.

"No, Potter, I don't." Blaise said, beginning to get irritated. "You just appeared out of nowhere in the Slytherin Common Room and said you needed to see me alone. So no, I have no idea what you want to talk about."

Harry sighed, dropping down onto the floor next to Blaise; he had heard the irritation in the boy's voice and he knew it was time to get to the point. "Alright Zabini, you win." He said with another sigh. "I need to talk about…well, us." He gestured between himself and Blaise. Blaise looked up, a look of surprise on his face.

"Us?" he said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean, us?"

"I mean I think we should talk about the attack. You did practically save my life." Harry said. Blaise felt his heart plummet; so Potter wasn't talking about his feelings towards him after all.

"Don't mention it." Blaise said angrily—he hated being wrong. "I was just trying to save my own skin."

"I know, but you still saved my life." Harry said, trying to figure out his next move. He still hadn't planned anything past saying he and Blaise had to talk about something. "And for that I am forever grateful." He continued.

"Potter is there any point to this?" Blaise said, rather disappointed in Harry and uncomfortable in the presence of the other boy.

"Yes, at least I think there is." Harry muttered. "I'm still trying to figure it out actually."

"So you just dragged me up here for no reason at all." Blaise stated, irritation and annoyance bubbling in his veins.

"No, there was a reason." Harry said nervously. "It's just…"

"Just what? You're being rather uncertain Potter, and I do believe you're wasting my time." Blaise drawled coolly, regretting his words the moment they left his mouth as a flash of hurt crossed Harry's face.

"Well I'm sorry Zabini." Harry growled, standing up, his eyes flashing. "How terrible of ME to waste your time. I guess I should be going then."

Blaise shook his head frantically, trying to get up enough courage to somehow keep Potter there as he too rose to his feet. "No!" Harry turned to look at him in confusion. "I mean, you-you don't have to leave. I mean you-"

Blaise's words were cut off as Harry stepped forward and pressed his lips against the Slytherin's. Blaise was frozen for a moment, then he tentatively began to kiss Harry back. He had just begun to enjoy the feel of Harry's lips against his when there was the sound of an explosion. A white light flashed through the room, blinding Blaise and Harry.

Then everything went black.


	14. Chapter 13: Sentiments and Solitude

**Why hello again! :) So utterly sorry about the long long long long long wait for this chapter. I had a ton of trouble with it (another grey area *sigh*) and didn't have very much time for writing at all actually. But I think I like the way it's turning out... things are progressing rather nicely I must say. Anyhow the next chapter I'm really excited about so hopefully it will be up in a decent manner (meaning less than two months if all goes as planned). Hopefully this one with satisfy my few readers for now. **

**THANK YOU crazed-slash-fan FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE YOU LOADS! 3**

**Hint: More reviews=more time I spend on this story :D**

**DICLAIMER: Still don't own Harry Potter or Sweeney Todd or Merlin. So sad. And moving on...**

**WARNING: Still slash...although not very much in this chapter. They're getting there though...I hope. **

**ENJOY! :D AND REVIEW! THEY MAKE ME REALLY REALLY REALLY HAPPY! :D **

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: Sentiments and Solitude<strong>

Harry awoke once again to blinding white light and a face peering at him intently. This time, however the face did not belong to a strikingly handsome Italian Slytherin, but to a strikingly beautiful Slytherin girl smirking widely at him. "Harry's awake!" She shrieked happily, her smirk turning to a wide grin.

"Very good, very good, Ms. Hope." Madam Pomfrey said, bustling over to look Harry over. Natalya stepped back to give her some room and walked out of Harry's line of vision to a bed a few down from his. The nurse waved her wand a few times over Harry's body before declaring his health satisfactory.

"What happened, Poppy?" Harry asked, looking up at her groggily. All he remembered was deciding to spontaneously snog Zabini and then…nothing. Had the Slytherin hexed him?

"You should ask that smart girl over there that question. She brought you up here yesterday, completely unconscious. Mr. Zabini hasn't woken up yet, but I assume he will be shortly." Madam Pomfrey answered him, fusing over his bed. A moment later and Harry heard a soft groan coming from a bed rather close to his, which was quickly followed by a squeal and a manly squawk. It would seem that Natalya had caught Blaise in a crushing hug.

"Oh thank god you're awake, I was so worried!" Nellie squealed.

"Wha- 'appened?" Blaise mumbled groggily, gazing up at Natalya who was grinning like a Cheshire Cat down at him.

"Well, you two went up to your dorm and didn't come back for quite some time. I was VERY worried something might have happened." Natalya snickered lightly to herself. "So I decided to go check on you and there I found you both, completely knocked out and oblivious to the world on the floor. I brought you two up here as fast as I could." She explained. Harry sat up so he could see where she sat on the end of Blaise's bed.

"Any idea why we blacked out?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows at her. She smirked back at him and shook his head.

"No idea. It might help though if you tell me what you and Blaise where doing in his dorm room." She grinned widely, looking from Blaise to Harry.

Blaise flushed, glancing over at the other boy, hoping he remembered what happened too. Harry was looking at him, a bit wide eyed, cheeks tinged red, and nodded slightly. "We, er, we were just-" Harry stuttered, cheeks flaming even darker.

Natalya laughed. "Snogging?" she finished for him with a smirk. Harry nodded slightly, biting his lip and looking away from Blaise. "Well I don't know what happened to you, but I think you'll be fine, right Madam Pomfrey?" she asked the medi-witch.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "I believe so. They both seem to be in good health so once they change I suggest you all go down to breakfast." She bustled into her office, leaving them alone. Harry groaned and rolled out of the bed, quickly pulling the draw curtains around it so he could change in piece, and Blaise did the same a minute later.

Harry sat down with a sigh next to Hermione and Ron at the Gryffindor table, making not to glance behind him at the Slytherins. "What happened to you last night?" Ron asked. "You disappeared."

"You weren't a bit preoccupied with a certain Slytherin, were you?" Hermione asked callously with a raise of his eyebrows. Harry flushed, making an indignant noise.

"No!" he exclaimed. "I went to talk to him and, er, the next thing I remember I was in the Hospital Wing. Supposedly Bla-Zabini and I were both knocked out." He explained, making sure to leave out a very important detail.

Ron frowned at something behind Harry. "Why's Natalya sitting with the snakes?" he asked.

Harry turned around to look, watching as Natalya scowled ferociously at Malfoy, snarling something at him. "No idea. I think her and Malfoy are having problems though." As if on cue a fight broke out between Draco and Natalya, the both of them snarling and yelling at each other on the top of their lungs.

"I don't CARE if you think I have no chance, MALFOY! I'm doing it!" Natalya yelled, glaring ferociously at Draco.

"You CAN'T! I will NOT be made a fool of, Hope!" Draco snarled back, jumping to his feet.

"You WON'T BE!" Natalya hissed back, she too jumping to her feet, hands balled into fists. "You've got HER to keep your standing." She jerked her head at Myra, who sat watching the spectacle in amusement.

"Don't you DARE bring Myra into this!" Draco growled threateningly. "You're nothing compared to her, NOTHING!"

Natalya froze, a hurt expression flitting across her face before her hand shot out, slapping Draco across the face hard. "So be it." She hissed, eyes flashing in anger. "But mark me, you'll LOSE. You'll lose if it's the last thing I do!" she promised, glaring coldly at the students watching them. She paused a moment, and Draco watched her closely, not sure of her next move. Suddenly her hand shot out again, slapping the other side of his face before she turned on her heel, flicking her hair over her shoulder and stalked out. She left the Great Hall to the sound of cheers from the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw tables.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Harry, who shrugged. "Think I should go after her?" he asked. Ron shook his head.

"Don't, mate, she just needs to blow off some steam." Ron grinned. "You know, the longer she's here the more I like that Natalya. She has some spunk to her, I'll give her that. The school's going to love her after that little display, no one's ever publicly stood up to Malfoy like that."

"I'm just worried about what the snakes will do to her because of it." Harry said, biting his lip slightly. He looked up slightly at the Slytherin table, making eye contact with the Italian Slytherin. Blaise shook his head slightly at Harry, jerking his head at the brooding blonde next to him. Harry nodded back with a sigh, tearing his gaze away. "Especially Malfoy, he doesn't look like a happy ferret."

Ron snickered, making Hermione roll her eyes at him. "Don't worry, Harry, she can take care of herself. I just wonder what they were arguing about…" she mused, thinking the fight over.

"No idea." Harry said. "I'll ask her next time I see her." Hermione nodded at him before opening a book she was reading and instantly getting absorbed in it. Ron just shook his head at her in amusement and started eating again.

Harry frowned, looking over at Malfoy again. He was whispering in Myra's ear, a concerned expression on his face. She shook her head, giving him a small kiss and shaking her head. Harry's frown deepened as he watched him kiss her back, for longer this time before he finally had to tear his eyes away. "I'm going." Harry muttered to Ron and Hermione, standing up and leaving the hall before his rage could boil over.

:::::::::

"You really need to be careful, Nellie." Snape reprimanded. "Doing this could get your cover blown."

Natalya snorted. "Yeah, right. Because someone's going to automatically recognize me if I sing and dance in order to become Slytherin Princes, is that it?" she asked sarcastically. Snape scowled at her, to which she just smirked back, draping herself lazily over the armchair she sat in.

"Draco might." Snape shot back. "He doesn't forget a thing about you, Nellie, no matter what you think."

"No, he doesn't." Natalya growled, glowering at Snape. "He's forgotten me." The professor looked back at her, frowning slightly. He knew she could be hot-headed and completely stubborn at times, but he knew she also could tell when something was going to get her in trouble. That was how she had survived for so long, even with the Ministry, Voldemort, and half the Aurors after her.

"I know he hasn't, Nellie. He's my godson and I know him better than even his parents do…I think. He still cares about you, even if you can't see it." Snape said confidently, not really knowing how to give this girl the confidence she needed. He had never really been the most comforting and emotional type.

Natalya gritted her teeth, growling softly in frustration. The Potions Master didn't understand, he didn't understand anything! He didn't know how much it hurt when she saw the blonde boy with-with Potter! Like her entire body was on fire and her stomach was being pierced with a hundred knives. She took a deep breath, remembering why she had come to see the professor in the first place. "I'm worried, Sev." She said quietly, closing her eyes and calming down perceptibly. "Today, in Defense Against The Dark Arts he…asked questions. We were going over bonds. I'm afraid Draco-he suspects something. I think he can still feel it, however faintly. What-what if he finds out?" she murmured, spilling out all her worries and fears.

Snape looked rather taken aback by this confession, and his brow furrowed as he thought it through. "I guess it's possible, Nellie, but you needn't worry yourself over it. I'm sure the Dark Lord would have ensured the connection was severed when you 'died'." He spat angrily, glancing down at the silver bracelet that adorned the girl's wrist. She noticed his gaze and quickly pulled her sleeve down to cover it. "You still wear it?" he asked in awe.

Natalya nodded. "I do. It helps me…remember what my job here is, no matter how hard it will be." She said, fingers running absentmindedly across the metal.

"Just make sure he never sees it." Snape warned. He cleared his throat slightly. "He, um, never wears his anymore."

"I know." Natalya said softly. "I never thought he would." She sniffed slightly before straightening up, her face suddenly rigid. "Thank you, Professor. I need to get to class now." She said coolly, standing up and nodding to Snape. She walked out the door, pushing past the blonde that stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Malfoy." Snape said, gesturing for him to sit down. Draco did so, running a hand shakily through his hair.

"Severus, I need to speak to you. It's about…" he looked around, lowering his voice. "Nellie. And…what we share-shared." He corrected quickly, grimacing slightly.

Snape sighed before sitting down opposite the blonde. "Speak away, Mr. Malfoy."

:::::::::

Harry groaned as he stepped into the Common Room and saw Ron and Hermione arguing on the couches. Both of them were glaring at each other furiously and Harry knew neither of them would give in any time soon.

It was two days before Halloween and the whole school was abuzz with the rumors going around about the Gryffindor's 'ball'. This also meant that everyone was trying to figure out what they and their date were going to wear. Hence Ron and Hermione's arguing.

"But I don't WANT to be a stupid house-elf!" Ron whined, pouting at Hermione in a failed attempt to be pitifully cute.

Hermione just rolled her eyes at him. "We agreed AGES ago we would be house elfs!" she said sternly. "You can't back out now."

"I agree with Hermione here, mate, you did promise." Harry said with a grin, leaning against the couch they were both sitting on. He smirked as they jumped, being so involved in their spat that they hadn't even noticed him come in.

"Awww, but Harry!" Ron protested, throwing a pleading look at his best friend. "She wants to be UGLY house elves! I don't WANT to be ugly!" This made Harry laugh and give Hermione a thumbs-up. Ron gasped at that, looking offended. "You're taking her side! And let me guess, you get to be a handsome knight in shining armor and I have to be a stupid sodding-"

"Ron." Harry warned his best friend as Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously. He gave the Ginger a look that said 'shut up now and agree with her or your girlfriend will never sneak into your dorm again', which luckily Ron was able to decipher and act accordingly.

"Fine, fine!" Ron finally broke with a sigh. "I'll be a stupid house elf! But I get to do my own ears." He demanded. Hermione laughed and nodded, grinning at Harry in thanks for helping her get her way with the most stubborn of boyfriends. Ron turned to Harry with a slight scowl before grinning and raising an eyebrow teasingly. "So, what ARE you and Blaise going as?" he asked with an eyebrow wiggle.

Harry blushed, mumbling under his breath. "We, um, haven't really discussed it yet actually."

"But Harry!" Ginny squealed from where she had just entered the room quietly. She bounced up to the group, grinning widely. "You two HAVE to go together! It will be wonderful and cute and hot and-" she cut her own rambling off to laugh. "Anyways no one will know who you two are!"

Ron laughed. "Even my sister's for it, Harry. That means you two HAVE to go together." He said with finality. Harry sighed but nodded and stood up. "Where're you going?" Ron asked with another arched eyebrow as Harry walked to the portrait hole.

"I'm going to find Blaise." Harry said with a smile. "And please, don't tell anyone else about this, okay guys? I want it to be a surprise." And with that he turned on his heel and strode out, leaving Ron and Hermione on their own to duke out the nefarious details of 'house elf costuming'.

Upon Harry's arrival at the Slytherin Common Room (they hadn't even changed the password, stupid snakes) Harry heard a shriek and a flash of movement from the couches. Raising an eyebrow he walked over to see Natalya's head poking up from behind one of the couches, which she had evidently for some reason just jumped behind. "Oh, Harry. It's just you." She said, cheeks warming as she rightened herself and smiled. "What are you doing back in the snake's pit so soon?" she asked with a smirk.

"Looking for Zabini." Harry said with a grin. "By the way, what WERE you doing when I came in?" he asked with a bemused look.

"I was, um, I was…er…" she stuttered, trying to come up with an answer that didn't sound completely insane. "Practicing my dance moves?" she said weakly, making Harry laugh.

"For what?" he chuckles, making Natalya blush even more.

"For the Slytherin Princes competition…" she mumbled, biting her lip. "And I need to beat Myra, so…I have to practice."

Harry smirked. "Oh, I see. Care to show me your moves?" he teased, making her go even darker. She pouted, punching him in the arm playfully.

"Blaise is in his dorm, if you want to go talk to him. I think Draco's up there right now, though, so be careful. Oh" Natalya scowled darkly. "And Myra's probably with him."

Harry nodded before hurrying up the stairs, leaving Natalya to dance and sing to her hearts content, or so he thought. With a last glance towards the stairs to make sure Harry was gone, Natalya walked over to the fire, taking a pouch out of her robes and opening it, taking a pinch of powder and throwing it into the flames. Glancing around, she stuck her head into the fire and shouted "Malfoy Manor!". A second later she stepped through the flames and disappeared.

When Harry opened the door all conversation in the dorm room stopped. "Potter!" he heard a gasp from one of the beds. "What the hell are you doing in here!...Again!" Harry looked over as he closed the door to see Draco was sitting up from where he had been sprawled out on a bed with Myra almost on top of him and did not deem him a reply. His eyes flashed slightly at the sight of Myra, once again, but he restrained his anger…for now.

Blaise, on the other hand, was grinning ear to ear at him. "Yes, what is the cause for us to be honored enough for the famous Harry Potter to grace us with his presence?" he asked jokingly, arching a seductive eyebrow at Harry.

Harry gulped before clearing his throat and shooting Blaise a rye look. "You, me, Halloween Ball." He stated, smirking widely. "Meet me in the library in fifteen minutes." And with that Harry turned on his heel and stalked out as abruptly as he came in.

The three Slytherins sat in silence for a few moment before Draco turned to Blaise with a shocked expression. "You're going with Potter!?" he exclaimed, looking at Blaise with almost accusation.

"So what if I am?" Blaise said coolly. "You're going with a Potter." He jerked his head in Myra's direction, and she just sneered at him.

"But-but that's completely different!" Draco spluttered. "She's a Slytherin, Potter he-he's a GRYFFINDOR!"

Blaise shrugged. "So? No one will know who we are and it'll be fun. I like him, Draco, get over it." He said coolly, standing up and strolling through the door without a backwards glance.

"You're going to regret it!" Draco called after him, but Blaise just smirks.

"Oh, I highly doubt that." Blaise smirked as he slammed the door behind him. "In fact I think I'm going to quite enjoy that night."

:::::::::

Lucius heard a thud in his study and ran to see what, or who, had slipped into his manor seemingly undetected. He drew his wand as he pushed open the door to reveal…a smirking Natalya standing on his hearth. Lucius sighed in relief before scowling at the girl. "What in the blazes are you doing here?" he asked. "And how'd you get in without the wards going off?" he said, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Natalya's smirk widened. "I just came in through the floo network. I might want to tighten your security it seems to be…lacking." She chuckled, giving Lucius a hard time.

Scowling, Lucius dropped down in a plush green armchair, gesturing for Natalya to sit across from him. "You always were a sneaky witch; I'm not overly surprised you got past my wards. Why are you here anyway? I don't suppose it was just for a visit and some tea, was it." He drawled, arching an elegant eyebrow at her.

"Sadly not, Lucius my friend." She sighed rather dramatically before smirking at the long-haired blonde. "I'm here on…business." She grimaced.

"the Dark Lord's, Dumbledore's, or your own?" Lucius questioned.

"A mixture of the three." She shot back at him. "Although mostly my own."

Lucius sighed. "Well then, please proceed with explaining whatever dastardly scheme you've gotten yourself into this time." He snapped, summoning a glass and some scotch. "Want some?" he asked, out of formality only. She shook her head. "Good because I wasn't going to give you any." Lucius drawled, pouring himself a glass and tossing it back.

Natalya rolled her eyes. "Are you always this chivalrous?" she asked snidely before moving on. "Dumbledore sends his regards, and hopes you will stay discreet as usual." She said, reaching into her robe's pocket and pulling out an envelope. "Your instructions should be in there. Oh, and he requests you use the service of the 'Potions Prince' and don't attempt to sneak into the Minister's office again."

"Does the old coot have anything better to do than order me to do his bidding?" Lucius asked with a sigh, taking the envelope from her.

"Not that I know of. Except for running a school and attempting to defy Voldemort while dodging recruitment to be the Minister of Magic, that is." Natalya smirked.

"Don't say his name!" Lucius hissed, but Natalya just shrugged and lounged back in her seat. "And what business are you here on for the Dark Lord then?"

"He asks you keep me in line and figure out what Dumbledore's next plan of defense is. Tom's trying to figure out when's a good time to launch his attack on the castle." She elaborated, raising a questioning eye at Lucius.

"After Christmas. They'll be ill prepared and taken by surprise after coming back from the Holiday. Although that could be used to our disadvantage, it would be hard to attack such a stronghold in winter." Lucius stated, running his fingertips along the rim of his glass.

"Early spring then would be best. Dumbledore will hopefully be prepared by then?" she questioned, although they both knew it had to be a statement by the time Spring rolled around. "And we'll have to get rid of the girl then, too."

Lucius nodded. "She will die, that is my duty, isn't it?" Natalya smiled and nodded, approval shining in her eyes. "And my son?"

"He will survive the battle, I couldn't just kill my bond, now could I? Although there have been…complications, with him as well." Natalya said carefully, fingers flitting to her wrist before moving away.

"What kind of complications?" Lucius asked, watching Natalya wearily. "This doesn't change-"

"No, it doesn't." she interrupted him. "He's just…felt something. Through our bond, just a touch of it I think. It should have been destroyed completely when Voldemort severed it, but…I think our close contact and flaring emotions around each other recently may have started to mend it."

"Flaring emotions?" Lucius tried to sound casual, but his body tensed slightly. If his son figured it out…they'd all be dead. Nellie couldn't let her feelings get in the way this time.

Natalya shook her head, as if she could read Lucius's thoughts. "Nothing too important. We got into a fight this morning, a spat, nothing more. He doesn't suspect anything and he never will. I've played my part well." She said, giving him a look that challenged him to doubt her skills.

Lucius nodded. "Very good, we must not be found out. Although," he smirked knowingly. "I bet you already know that. What is this business of your own you need my help with?"

Standing up, Natalya paced over to a shelf of books, running her finger along the spines. "The Potter girl, I need your help…beating her, in a way." She said quietly. Her fingers paused and she drew out the tomb they had landed on; it was thick and black with silver guilding on the cover. "Necromancy and the Darkest Arts, interesting reading material Lucius." She smirked.

"That's not-I mean-How did you-?" the blonde man stuttered, looking at the girl with wide eyes.

She laughed, putting the book back and smirking widely. "Your glamours and screens don't fool me." She said, almost sneering. Picking out another book she raised her eyebrows, holding it up. "Valkery and Their Ancestors, late night reading, Lucius? Or how about this one…" she held up another tomb, this one smaller with black pages. "The Black Book of Secrets: Fleet Str…" she trailed off, looking at Lucius with wide eyes. "Where did you get this?" she questioned slowly, looking down at the cover with fear in her eyes.

"Borden and Burke's in Knockturn Alley. Cost me a pretty penny, too." Lucius drawled, raising an eyebrow at her reaction. She just scowled it off and turned the book over in her hands, flipping to the front page. Her scowl deepened as she read the first few pages and snapped the book closed with a soft growl.

Natalya handed the book back to Lucius. "Burn it." She hissed.

Lucius shook his head. "I can't! It's VALUABLE, Nellie! It could be worth a fortune before we know it."

"Destroy it or-or bury it or something!" Natalya shrieked, face twisting in fury. "It's dangerous, Lucius! Don't you see that!? It never should have been for sale in the first place." She growled. Lucius nodded, placing the book on his desk. The girl sighed, dropping back into her vacated chair. "Sorry, it's just…it holds too much power."

"I understand." Lucius nodded. "I'll put it in a safe place." He assured her. The blonde rested his head on his hands, watching the young women intently.

"What?" she asked sharply, raising an eyebrow. She didn't much like that look on the man's face.

"You've changed, Nellie. I can't tell if it's for bad or for worse, but you've changed." He stated bluntly. "Perhaps that's why my son does not recognize you, if you're no longer who he knew you to be."

Natalya snarled, teeth bared. "That's what happens when the Ministry finds you." She took a deep breath, visibly trying to steady herself. "I haven't changed, Lucy." She smirked with a roll of her eyes, trying to maintain her former attitude. "At least for you son I haven't. I still lo-" A soft clatter from another room cut her off.

Lucius's eyes widened. "The Minister!" he hissed. "I forgot, we have business to discuss. Go, Nellie. Go!" he said frantically as Fudge called from the other room. Natalya gave the older Malfoy a strong stare before nodding and striding over to the fire. A flash of dust, a few mumbled words, and a burst of flames later and she was gone.

:::::::::

Harry was lounging against a bookcase in one of the farther, less traversed aisle of the Library. He smirked as Blaise walked past, searching for Harry, and reached out his arm to snag the Slytherin and pull him into a darkened inlet.

Blaise squaked, automatically putting his arms up in defense as he was spun around and came face-to-face with Harry. "Potter!" he shrieked in surprise, hands falling to his sides.

The Gryffindor laughed, grinning from ear to ear. "In the flesh." He said. "Glad you came."

"Of course I was going to. One doesn't turn down an invite from the Chosen One." Blaise replied smoothly with a smirk, having quickly composed himself, now looking completely unflustered. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of receiving such an invite?" he cocked an eyebrow, making Harry pull a face, smiling despite himself.

Gesturing for Blaise to follow Harry lead them both down the aisle to a little table hidden in the shadows. Harry had stumbled upon it one late night when he was lurking around the library with Nellie during the previous year. It had become a sort of safe haven for the boy, somewhere where he could go without being disturbed—a sort of secret hiding place. Somehow it seemed right to share it with Blaise. "I just want to talk." Harry replied with a smile, sliding into one of the seats and waiting for Blaise to sit across from him. Once the Slytherin was settled Harry continued, keeping his voice low, just in case any students came down this way, searching for books on sewer systems and flobber worms. "About Halloween. Are you going to the ball with anyone?" he asked cautiously, trying not to seem to hopeful that Blaise wasn't. The Italian was a sought after boy after all. Harry had, of course, seemingly forgotten that he had basically asked the Slytherin to go with him earlier.

Blaise tilted his head, regarding Harry with an amused expression. "Well, I was pretty much asked to go with someone earlier today, so I guess I am."

"Oh." Harry said, face falling. It was like Cho Chang all over again. "Okay. Who?"

"Oh I think you know him. Pretty thick by the looks of things." Blaise chuckled, smirking when Harry still didn't know who he was talking about.

"Spit it out, Zabini!" Harry growled in frustration, finding the games the Slytherin played annoying instead of amusing like usual.

"You're forgetful, Potter. I'm going with you, idiot." Blaise said endearingly, giving Harry a wide smile. The Gryffindor really was cute when he was flustered.

"Oh." Harry said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck and flushing. "I forgot. So…what do you think we should go as?" He asked, biting his lip nervously.

Blaise shrugged, looking around at the books on the shelf. "No idea. We need to go as some pair, but nothing too obvious that it'll be evident who we are." They thought for a couple minutes, but neither of them could think of anything. Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Maybe we should ask Hermione." Harry offered, "She might at least have an idea."

Making a face Blaise quickly shook his head. "Sorry, Potter, but I don't think Granger will have any good ideas. What's she and Weasley going as, trolls or something?"

"House elves actually." Harry replied quickly.

"Same difference." Blaise shrugged. "Natalya would have better ideas."

Biting his lip Harry nodded. "She is pretty brilliant at everything. We can as her, I guess. Last I knew she was in your common room, dancing or something."

Blaise laughed with a nod. "She was doing that earlier today, too. Her and Draco had some fight or something, I think she's doing her best to get his nerves. No idea why though, she's pretty enough, I figured Draco would be especially nice to her, but…" he shrugged. "who knows what happens in his head."

"They were fighting in the Great Hall the other week, weren't they? Any idea what that was about? Natalya wouldn't tell me." Harry asked nervously.

"Something to do with the Slytherin Princess competition." Blaise shrugged casually. "Draco didn't want her to compete or something, I'm not sure. I suppose he didn't want anyone to beat out Myra—it's surprising though because Natalya is very similar to…" he lowered his voice. "Nellie."

Harry's head jerked up and a worried look momentarily flashed across his face. "Yes…I suppose." He said slowly. "But Malfoy doesn't seem to think so, from what I've seen he hates her."

Blaise nodded sadly. "It would seem so, unfortunately. She's a nice girl, helped me out of a tough situation a couple of times. The teachers all adore her." He stood up, leaning against the table. "But enough talking about her, we have more important things to talk about WITH that girl." Blaise grinned, reaching out his hand to pull Harry up.

Taking the offered hand Harry got to his feet with a soft groan. "Hopefully she'll be helpful, and we won't interrupt anything too important. Or weird." He laughed, leading Blaise out of their darkened isle. They walked in silence, Harry pulling on Blaise's hand until they were out of the library. "This'll be so much fun." He grinned, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "I've always loved Halloween, it's the best holiday of the year with all the ghosts and other spooky stuff." He laughed, swinging their hands. Harry looked up at Blaise to see the boy looking at him with an amused smirk. "Sorry. It just makes me really excited." The Gryffindor mumbled, looking sheepish.

Bursting out laughing, Blaise shook his head in amusement. "You are possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen, Potter." He smirked at Harry, who turned a bright red. "And that's quite a compliment since I don't normally like cute things."

Harry rolled his eyes, although a small smile flashed across his lips. "Thanks." He said sarcastically, stopping outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room to murmur the password before pulling Blaise inside with a smirk.

"I've been meaning to ask…how did you manage to get in here anyways?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow as he stepped inside the common room. Unfortunately he never got his answer for there was a short shriek and a flash of light and suddenly the air was filled with some sort of silver smoke. "What the-!" the Italian gasped, blinking frantically to stop the little lights coloring his vision.

"Sorry!" A girl's voice squeaked and suddenly the room materialized before his eyes, the smoke being siphoned back into a small flask and the end corked. "You guys startled me." Natalya grinned, throwing the flask into a bag at her feet.

Raising an eyebrow at the bag and the girl, Harry started laughing. "What in the world were you doing THIS time?" he chuckled, unable to control himself.

Natalya huffed at the raven-haired boy, folding his arms. "I'm still practicing for your information. That was for if I need a quick get away. Just in case…something goes wrong." She grimaced, tossing her hair behind her back. "Want to see my dance? I'm much better now!" she grinned happily, making both Harry and Blaise flinch.

"No!" they both exclaimed together.

"No, no, that's fine."

"We really don't-"

"We'll take your word for it." Harry said, eyes wide.

Pouting, Natalya sighed and flopped down on one of the couches. "I'm not THAT bad, Harry. I'm rather good actually. I just have to decide the song to dance to. I can't decide between 'Scandalous' or 'Body Language'." She sighed. "They're Muggle songs." She added at the confused expressions on both boys' faces.

"Oh." Harry said with a nod. "So…we were wondering…" he started, remembering the true reason as to why they were in the Slytherin common room in the first place.

"You need my expertise again, don't you Harry." Natalya nodded knowingly. "I'd wager half a guess it's either about you two romantically…or it's about the upcoming extravaganza on All Hollowed Eve." She grinned.

Blaise rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement. "The second one. We have no problems with our…relationship." He said carefully, glancing at Harry who nodded in acquiescence. "We need help with our Halloween costumes."

Natalya giggled lightly and bounced up and down, clapping her hands happily. "Aww you two are going together?! That's SOOO CUTE!" she squealed, causing Harry to look rather horrified. "Hmm…" her face suddenly became rather devious as she tapped her fingers together, eyeing both boys. She jumped to her feet and gestured for both boys to follow her. "Come on, I have so stuff in my room that may give us some ideas."

As she flounced off to the stairs Harry and Blaise exchanged looks before shrugging and following her up the steps to her dorm room. Blaise frowned when he saw the snakes that coiled out of her door, the frown darkening when one of the snakes bit Natalya and came alive, wrapping around her wrist. The girl opened the door and gestured for them to follow her into the darkened room. She snapped her fingers and glowing balls of light drifted just below the ceiling, filling the room with a warm glowing light that just didn't fill the darkened corners.

"Where does that door lead to?" Harry asked, cocking his head toward the door on the right side of the room.

"The room next door. Myra and Draco's." Natalya sneered, the bitterness ringing loud and clear in her voice. She walked over to a huge cracked mirror, sliding it to the side to reveal a magically expanded wardrobe. "I should have something in here suitable…"

Harry's gaze fell on a top hanging up, breathing sharply in. It was white and covered in blood stains starting at the collar and Harry knew that a crimson corset should be paired with it. Natalya heard him and quickly grabbed the top, throwing it in the back of the closet with a panicked look. "Sorry about that I…I had a bloody nose the other day, just haven't cleaned it yet." she muttered, going farther into the closet. Harry ducked as various articles of clothing came flying out of the closet, giving Blaise a wide-eyed look.

The Italian chuckled, sidling over and briefly wrapping an arm around Harry's waist with a smirk. In turn Harry batted his hand away with a laugh and barely missed getting hit by what looked like a pair of black trousers. "Wait, why is she looking in her closet? I won't wear girl's clothes!" Harry hissed to Blaise, suddenly struck by a horrifying image of him and the Slytherin dressed all in pink with ruffles and bows.

"I think she's just getting ideas…anyways some of this stuff isn't bad." Blaise answered, tilting his head at a cloak that hung on the wall. "You know what that looks like? It looks like a Death Eater's robe." he whispered, sounding excited. "Hey Natalya!" he exclaimed and the girl paused in her search and looked up.

"Yeah? What is it? You come up with any ideas?" she asked, getting to her feet and turning to look at them, hands on her hips.

Blaise chuckled at the expression she wore and gestured to the cloak. "What is that?"

Natalya raised her eyebrows, a small smirk flashing across her lips before she answered. "That, my friend, is a Death Eater's 'uniform', complete with mask." she grinned, walking over to the robes and pushing them to the side to show a silver mask etched with roses and thorns.

"How'd you manage to get your hands on that?" Blaise asked in awe.

Laughing, Natalya went back to searching through clothes, moving even deeper into the closet. It seemed endless. "That's my little secret." she smirked before grinning in triumph, holding up a broadsword and a black waistcoat. "I found it!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, perplexed as to how those two seemingly random objects could help them with their costumes. "You have an idea?"

The girl grinned widely. "I have a PERFECT idea."

"So…are you going to tell us what it is, or are you going to continue acting all mysterious about it?" Blaise asked with a good natured roll of his eyes, although he looked intrigued.

"Have you two heard of King Arthur and his round table?" she asked. Harry shook his head, but Blaise nodded with a smile. Natalya smiled back and wandered over to her book case to grab a large dark red tomb. "Well a long time ago there was a king who ruled over a place called Camelot, King Arthur. He created an empire known as Albion, a place where magic was prevalent since in Camelot it had been banned. At Arthur's side there was a wizard named Merlin."

"Merlin, seriously?" Harry asked. "I am not dressing up like some old, dodgedy wizard, Natalya."

"Hey, I think that would be hilarious. You could have a long beard and everything!" Blaise chortled, although he gave Natalya a little shake of his head.

The Slytherin girl rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to have you dress up like old Merlin, Harry. In the Muggle world there's this T.V. show called Merlin. They're younger, so it shouldn't be too hard to pull off, although Blaise you'll have to dye your hair blonde and…no, wait that wouldn't work at all…" she growled in frustration, looking down at the picture in the book with a scowl. "Well scrap that idea." she huffed, slamming the book closed and stalking back to her closet, looking positively ruffled. "Wait…" she paused, turning around to look between Harry and Blaise, a small smirk appearing on her lips.

"Perfect."

:::::::::

"What do you want to go as?" Liam asked, looking down at Natalya with a soft smile from where he sat on her bed the next day. The brunette girl looked up at him from where she was sprawled out, a thoughtful look on her face.

"I'm not sure…" she thought out loud. "We could be Arthur and Gweniviere. You know, from that Muggle legend about King Arthur and Merlin and the round table. I was going to have Blaise and Harry go as Arthur and Merlin, but I came up with a better idea." She offered.

Liam frowned and thought for a moment. "Nah," he said. "I don't much want to go with the traditional Princes and Prince scheme, it's too boring. We should dress up in a way to wow and surprise the school." He smirked like the Slytherin he was. "Draco will be pissed if we upstage him."

Natalya grinned, sitting up to give him a hug. "You always know what will please me." She drawled, nodding her approval. "So, something exciting, huh?" she thought for a moment, going through possible ideas in her head. A malicious grin spread across her lips as she thought of the absolute perfect costume. Sure to astound the entire school. "Ever thought of being a serial killer?..."

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><p><strong>NEXT CHAPTER PRIEVEW!: <strong>

**Draco's stomach dropped as he saw the blood dripping from her throat, running down her collar. No, it couldn't be. Not now. **


	15. Chapter 14: Dead Walking

**Hi again! So terribly sorry for the really really obnoxious delay. This chapter was terribly difficult to write and I don't really like it, but I didn't want to make you all wait any longer. Hopefully it isn't too horrible. I promise the next chapter will be better. I apologize that there isn't very much Blaise/Harry in this chapter either... but there are other aspects of this story that needed to be developed and touched upon. Which I hope were. Also I apologize for all grammar and/or spelling errors. **

**WARNING: Yes, this is still slash, however there isn't much in this chapter unfortunately**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, still don't own Harry Potter *sigh* oh but if I did...**

**Hopefully you people who read this will like it! Reviews are always appreciated! Also thank you to all of you who have already reviewed! I love you all very much! **

**ENJOY! :D**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 14: Dead Walking<strong>

Surprisingly enough, Halloween day went amazingly smoothly for Harry. Perhaps that was because he was Harry Potter and in his life everything seemed fine and dandy and completely normal until disaster struck all at once. So here Harry could be found, exiting his last class of the day—Potions. Snape hadn't even tried to poison anyone yet, as was his usual Halloween tradition, so when the bell rang Harry gathered his stuff and practically sprinted out of the room. He wasn't going to try his luck this year.

He stopped just outside the classroom door and was waiting for Ron and Hermione when a squealing mass of Slytherin girl tackled him. "Harry, Harry, Harry!" Natalya squealed, letting go of the stunned Gryffindor and bouncing up and down excitedly.

Just then Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle swept out of the classroom, with Blaise trailing behind them. Harry immediately brightened and smiles at the Italian, who smiled back and gave him a small wave.

"Oh look, the Dream Team's gotten a new member." A drawling voice came from the head of the group. Natalya spun around and shot Draco a cool, calculating glare.

"Oh look, the ferret can talk." Natalya drawled back with a sneer before turning her back on the other Slytherin. She looked over at Blaise, though, and grinned. "Come on, Blaise dear. I do believe I have some magic to work.

Blaise glanced at Draco who rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion with his hands before stalking down the corridor with the rest of his gang in tow. A bright smile spread across Blaise's face and as he walked over to the Gryffindors plus on Slytherin, Natalya huffed. "Pretentious prick." she muttered under her breath, glaring after Draco's retreating blonde head.

"Come on, don't let him get to you Nat." Harry murmured softly, pulling Blaise over to his side.

"Easy for you to say, Harry." The Slytherin girl muttered darkly before visibly brightening. "Anyhow, I do believe it's time for me to get to work on you two." She grinned and grabbed both boys by the arm, dragging them in the direction of the Slytherin Common Room and leaving Ron and Hermione to sort themselves out.

The moment they got to her room, Natalya pushed both boys unceremoniously into two chairs and got to work. Her wand flashed between her fingers and smiled as Blaise's hair became long and blonde, falling gently around his shoulders in light waves. "Perfect." Natalya smiled to herself and got to work on Harry's hair, making it long enough to feather behind his ears, just barely brushing the back of his neck.

"Hmmm…." she circled the two boys, who looked rather terrified. She flicked her wand again and Harry's skin paled a couple shades. She nodded happily to herself and studied the boys carefully. "You can move now." She chuckled, noticing both boys were trying to stay perfectly still.

Immediately Harry ran his fingers through his hair, smiling at the feel of its length. "I like it." Blaise said and grinned, running his own fingers through Harry's new hairstyle. "What's next?" The Slytherin asked, looking up at Natalya who was now searching through a giant dark trunk.

Natalya grinned and held up a wicked looking scepter and a stone hammer. "How do you feel about body armor, Blaise dear?"

:::::::::

Draco smiled dashingly at his reflection in the mirror, placing a golden circlet lightly on top of his head, He strapped a sword to his belt and adjusted his tunic before turning to look at his new Princess. "You're beautiful." he breathed, making Myra smirk.

"And you're very handsome, my Prince." Myra chuckled, adjusting her volumness skirts and putting on her own crown. She went over to Draco's side and smiled at him sweetly, extending her arm. "Shall we?"

Draco grinned and escorted her down to the Common Room, meeting up with a pair of fairies (Crabbe and Pansy) and what possibly could have passed for Robin Hood and Lady Marian (Goyle and Millicent Boulstrode).

"Have you seen Liam and Natalya yet?" Pansy asked as they left the Common Room. "I want to know what they are, Liam seemed pretty excited about it yesterday."

Draco snorted and shook his head. "Who cares?" he drawled, wrapping an arm around Myra's waist and leering at her. She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder, smiling almost too sweetly at him. "I have my princess right here."

:::::::::

"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked Natalya, looking doubtfully in the mirror at his green and gold ensemble. They weren't exactly robed, but they couldn't be classified as pants and a shirt either. Around his waist he could feel a hard a metal that spidered up him to mid chest; body armor, Natalya had said, not as much as Blaise had, but it still felt weird.

"Positive." Natalya said firmly while adjusting Blaise's red cape and handing him his hammer. "You two look wonderful. Absolutely gorgeous. Now get down there and have fun." She grinned. making a shooing motion.

Harry frown at Natalya, picking up his scepter. "Aren't you coming?"

Natalya nodded with a wide smirk. "I wouldn't miss it. I've just got go…get ready." she winked at Harry, waggling her eyebrows.

The Gryffindor snorted and rolled his eyes. "Just be careful, okay? Try not to do anything too rash."

Natalya laughed softly and shooed the two boys out of her room. "When am I not?"

:::::::::

Draco and his gang of Slytherins had just entered the Great Hall, the ball in full swing, when a Hufflepuff (presumably, it was hard to tell with her overwhelming amounts of pink and glitter and bows) knocked into Draco, running out of the Great Hall with a sob. Well, someone must have told her she looks like a muggle vampire, Draco thought with a smirk as he turned to watch the girl run. He was just about to turn back to his friends when the doors opened again to admit another couple. There were gasps around him and slowly Draco turned back around to face the doors. He gasped and his eyes widened, his eyes immediately drawn to dripping rivets of crimson. No, no her, not now. As if entranced he watched the red blood drip from her through as Natalya walked forward, her dark skits swishing around her feet. Every eye was on them.

Natalya smirked at Liam and held out her arm, letting him escort her across the dance floor. He struck a regal figure with the girl handing off his arm, his silk top hat resting splendidly on top his silky, sandy locks, his black suit pristine and dark. The velvet red and gold waistcoat almost seemed to compliment the deadly knife hanging from his belt, the instrument stained red with blood.

Draco continued to gape, his eyes locked on the Slytherin girl as she strode across the crowd, still seeing the crimson dripping from her neck.

"Draco. Draco!" A voice snapped him out of his trance. He turned to see Myra giving him a look and cleared his throat.

"Sorry." Draco apologized sheepishly. "I just can't believe she dressed up like that. I always knew she was a slut." he gave Natalya and Liam a dark look from where they were across the Hall talking with Harry and Blaise. He did a double take and his eyes widened. Was Blaise a…blonde?! And what the fuck was he and Potter holding?! He heard another cough and looked away to see Myra giving him a look…again. "What is she supposed to be anyway?" Draco grumbled.

"I think a London Harlot. Liam looks to be Jack the Ripper, the famed serial killer." Pansy offered helpfully, noting the other deadly medical tools that hung from Liam's waist. "He would cut a prostitute's throat and then cut up their bodies."

"Whatever." Draco huffed, stomach churning at the thought. It reminded him of another throat he saw, slashed and spurting that red liquid. He would never forge that sight. He swallowed hard and quickly pulled Myra onto the dance floor, trying to loose himself in the beautiful Princess.

Across the floor Natalya watched with a plummeting heart and a brief flash of sadness crossed her face. Liam noticed and nudged her gently. "Her, you okay Nat?"

Natalya blinked and turned to look at Liam, forcing a bright smile onto her lips. "Yeah, I'm fine." she said lightly, taking hold of Liam's hand. "Sorry. Let's go dance." She tugged his hand gently and with a laugh Liam followed her, pulling her immediately into a waltz. The girl closed her eyes and her surrounding melted…

-.-.-.

A jaunting melody was coming from the string orchestra along one wall. Throughout the ballroom wizards in their finest were twirling to the music that flowed throughout Malfoy Manor. Their hands were clasped tight—hers and the blonde boy's. She smiled up at him and he smiled lovingly back, kissing her lips softly before twirling her around, her dark skirts swirling around her feet.

They spun around each other elegantly, the crowd of people parting to make for the destined couple. It was a celebration for those there, a celebration of the boy's birthday—he was now a lovely age of 16. Not quite of age yet, but it was close enough with the impending war.

The couple had stopped spinning in the center of the ballroom and the boy leaned down to capture her lips again, his blonde hair shining in the light almost like a halo around his head, Their lips had just met when creams erupted from one end of the room and the huge doors burst open in a shower of wooden splinters and flashes of light, an explosion shaking the ballroom.

In moments the crowd was panicked and screams rang out as bursts of light were shot from the ends of wands, the Ministry Aurors tearing through the wizards in pursuit of their target.

She scrambled to get a baring and block the boy with her own body when strong arms wrenched her away. Curse lit up her body and she watched as she got farther and farther away from the boy, who was screaming and yelling at the top of his lungs, his face screwed up in agony.

The Ministry Aurors surrounded her, dark purple robes swirling, and everything dissolved into darkness.

-.-.-.

"Natalya?" Liam's voice wrenched her back into the present.

The girl blinked a soft smile graced her lips. "Yes? What were you saying?" she asked in a higher voice than normal.

Liam gave her a strange look. "I didn't say anything, you just looked a bit dazed."

"Oh." Natalya blushed, looking over Liam's shoulder up to the front table, where Lucius and Snape were speaking in hushed tones. "I was just…" her gaze traveled over to Mr. Todd who smiled (more like grimaced), maliciously at her, drawing a subtle finger across his throat and smirked. "thinking."

:::::::::

Lucius looked over the mass of students dancing and growled under his breath as his eyes rested on the London Harlot. "She's an idiot! What the hell does she think she's doing?" he hissed at Snape, his body language portraying his anxiety.

"Calm down Lucius." Snape whispered back softly, eyes flicking to Dumbledore who stood a few feet away. "She's a rash girl, we know that." he continued, turning an eye to the couples on the dance floor. "What the…" he murmured as he caught sight of Harry and Blaise, who had made their way to the center of the dance floor. "Who's that with Potter? And what the fuck is he wearing?" he hissed, eyes narrowing.

Lucius drew his eyes away from Natalya and Liam to look at the two boys. "What in the world…" he breathed, studying 'Thor's' face intently. "I…I think that's Blaise. Blaise Zabini, he's one of Draco's friends." he whispered in wonder.

"What's he doing with Potter?!" Snape almost yelled and Lucius shushed him quickly as a few teachers turned to give them looks.

"Shut up!" Lucius hissed, his ears picking up small noises coming from…he looked up to see unnatural bolts of lightening flashing through the ceiling. "Get down!" he shouted, moments before a bolt of blue lightening came from the ceiling, striking the stone floor right next to where Liam and Natalya had been thrown to the ground.

Natalya staid down on the floor, clutching onto Liam as horrified screams started up around them. Draco pushed through the crowd of students, telling himself that he was worried about Liam NOT Natalya. He stopped in his tracks as he looked at what had been left in the wake of the lightening bolt and his face paled considerably. "What the fuck is this?" he breathed, eyes reflecting pain and terror.

"GET BACK, GET BACK!" Dumbledore bellowed and the students immediately cleared a path for the headmaster. On the ground Natalya finally looked up at the sound of Dumbledore's voice. About two feet to her right was a body that was smoking slightly. It took her a moment to recognize the hair and defining scar that ran just behind the ear of the body.

She looked up even more to look at Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be having trouble breathing, his skin turning an ashen grey. Natalya brushed off the hands that tried to help her up and she stood on shaky legs to take in the entire scene. "Oh dear." she murmured with a small smirk. "That's unfortunate."

Spread out on the floor, surrounded by scorch marks from lightening hitting stone, was her body. Well, not her body exactly, it was what she supposed was a conjuring of her semblance. It was her true form as well; silver hair, scars, complete with a gaping on her throat glistening with blood. Blood that she knew was reflected on her own throat.

On her chest was what seemed to be making Draco freak out—he had started hyperventilating and looked to be on the verge of either throwing up or passing out. A sing was hung around the body's neck and read, in big, dripping black letters: " _**insert words here" **_

"Get the body to the hospital wing." Dumbledore muttered quickly and Mr. Todd hurried forwards to move it. The moment his hand hit the girl's body it exploded into a million shards of light and the sign clattered to the ground. Words appeared on the back of it: "For a souvenir"

Everyone turned as the Great Hall doors thudded closed and Draco was gone.

:::::::::

The door slammed behind Draco as he collapsed onto his bed, long repressed tears finally slipping from his eyes. After calming down somewhat he reached under his bed and slowly, carefully, drew a box out, setting it on his blankets and just staring at it for a long moment. It was dark wood, snakes carved into its very being, and, as had puzzled Draco upon first receiving it, had no lock. In the place of a lock was a reared snake head, fangs poised to strike. Biting his lip, Draco ran his fingertips over the snake's head and then fangs, only wincing a tiny bit as they pierced his skin.

He removed his hand and the box swung open. It hadn't been opened in months, since…that day. SHE had given it to him…and he just couldn't burn it. Couldn't get rid of this last piece. Carefully, tears threatening to fall, Draco lifted a few artifacts out of the box. The tears were held back as he turned the silver razor over in his fingers, eyes immediately drawn to the dried crimson staining the blade. He was a Malfoy, after all. Malfoy's didn't cry.

The razor was dropped onto his blankets and he picked up a small, moving picture. The girl in the photograph was laughing, her eyes bright and shining as she pulled on his hand to drag him into the small shop. Draco stared at the girl, swallowing hard as his eyes pricked with wetness. He was lost in the photo, those haunting eyes racing towards him…

-.-.-.

Nellie laughed and pulled on Draco's hand, pushing open the old door so that the bell inside jingled happily. His eyes flicked up at the battered sign hanging about the door, apprehension spreading through his heart that not even his love's smiling face could dispel.

"Come on, Draco." Nellie giggled, like the tinkling of bells, pulling him through the door. She wrapped her arms around Draco and smiled up at him, standing on tip-toe to kiss him gently. "I missed you." she whispered before pulling away, a dark look flashing just briefly across her face.

Draco turned as the bell behind them jingled and Harry stepped through the door. The blonde looked at the brunette for a second before noting something reflected in his glasses. He spun around just in time to see a flash of silver and a burst of crimson. He rushed forwards to catch Nellie as she fell to the ground, lifeless.

The boy didn't even notice as tears fell from his eyes, his shoulders already shaking. "No, no, no, no, no. No, Nellie, no!" he cried, cradling her in his arms as blood dripped from the smiling gash in her throat. He looked up at the dark man who had done this, the man pressing a finger to his lips with a devious smile before vanishing. The razor the man had wielded lay glistening with rubies on the ground, feet from Draco.

Wretched sobs were wrenched from his throat as Draco felt arms on him, pulling up. But he couldn't let go of her, he couldn't let her leave him. "Let go, Draco." he heard Blaise's calm voice in his ear. "You can't help her, she's gone."

"No!" Draco cried as the girl was taken from his grasp. "Nellie!" he looked up in anguish at the wizards surrounding him, unable to identify anyone but Blaise, Harry, and Severus through his tear thick gaze. He watched, helpless as her body was taken away, leaving him in a pool of spreading blood.

-.-.-

Blinking, Draco wiped away the tears that had dripped down his cheeks. Quickly he put the photo down, taking deep breaths to calm himself. The memory was so vivid, so _real_, just like the nightmares of _her_ that plagued him at night. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought, trying not to think of the last one he had had, where she had tortured and taunted him, she herself a mass of scars and pain. He had woken up moments before her knife pierced his heart.

Wiping away more tears, Draco reached into the box again and pulled out a small, black and silver key. It fit perfectly in his palm and he curled his fingers around it, closing his eyes and remembering…

-.-.-

He followed the dark casket as it traveled slowly through the graveyard, the sky a dark and dismal grey, almost black. His face was stoic, emotionless, he had cried his tears hours before.

They arrived at the mausoleum, a dark stone landmark surrounded by headstones. A ways off lightning struck a headstone, lighting up the stone angels. The wizards, the few that had warranted an invitation, looked up a bit frightened as thunder rolled through the sky. Draco searched out the faces of the wizards in dark robed, catching the emerald eyes of Harry Potter. The raven haired boy stared at him a moment, true sadness reflected in his eyes, before he looked away as a light rain started to fall from the dark clouds overhead.

The iron bar door was opened by a tall man wearing a hood, his face covered in shadow, with a small black and silver key and slowly they carried the casket in. Draco swallowed back tears as it was lowered into the marble entombment and covered with a heavy slab of pure black. His eyes skimmed over the silver inscription carved into the blackness, his eyes pricking with wetness. "Here lies Nellie Emnel—The greatest thing to be granted is death".

At that moment Draco broke and fell to his knees, hot tears spilling down his cheeks. His ears didn't hear the cried for the girl as he was overtook by sobs. Arms pulled him back and pressed a key into his palm before disappearing. He sat there on his knees in the cool darkness for what seemed like hours, his ears drowned out by the raging storm outside, lightning illuminating sections of the wall through the door.

Slowly, numbly, Draco stood up and walked out into the rain, the downpour soaking him through in an instant. The key remained clenched in his fist as he walked away from the crypt, going back up the hill.

He turned to look at the structure one last time and another bolt of lightning shot out of the sky, hitting the building with a flash of light. Slowly the stone door to the crypt closed with an inaudible thunk. Draco turned away and started walking…

-.-.-

Draco's head jerked up as there was a knock on the door and it opened slowly. "Malfoy?" a girl's voice asked and Nellie stepped inside the doorway.

Gritting his teeth, Draco closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He really didn't need this right now. "Go away." he growled, trying not to let his emotions show.

Nellie ignored him and stepped completely into the room, looking at the box and objects around Draco with interest. "What's all this?"

Quickly Draco stuffed the objects back inside the box, his fingers lingering on a circular silver bracelet before putting it on top and slamming the lid closed. "It's none of your business."

The silver bracelet on Nellie's wrist pulsed once with heat and her eyes widened. She slowly backed up out of the room. "Sorry." she murmured before she quickly turned and fled.

Draco sighed and put the box under his bed before changing and curling up under his blankets. He looked over at Myra's empty bed and shrugged, not caring for once, and fell into a troubled sleep.

:::::::::

Nellie stood outside of Draco's door for a moment before she turned and walked back down to the Common Room. "How is he?" Liam asked from the couch, back in normal clothes.

The girl sighed and shrugged. "He's still a git, but that'll never change." she walked past Liam in long strides, going to the Common Room entrance. "He's pretty upset, though."

"Hey, where you going?" Liam asked with a frown, sitting up to look at Natalya.

"Nowhere." Natalya answered quickly. Liam arched an eyebrow and the girl flushed. "I mean…I have some stuff to do."

Getting up, Liam made to go with her. "I'll come with you, it's past curfew, you know."

Natalya's face paled. "No!" she exclaimed. She saw Liam's face fall and mentally kicked herself. "I can go by myself, Liam. It's easier to sneak around on my own." she gave him a soft smile which luckily made him brighten a little.

"Alright." the sandy-haired Slytherin nodded, sitting back down and closing his eyes.

Before Liam could change his mind, Natalya made her escape out the door, walking quickly through the corridors. Her feet were silent as she walked through the shadows, slipping back into the darkness whenever she approached a Professor or Prefect. She ducked down a secret passage, appearing just outside of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Not bothering to knock, Natalya strode in, scowling darkly. Mr. Todd jumped to his feet, razors immediately flying into his hands. The girl laughing mockingly. "what are you going to do, Sweeney? Kill me again?" she smirked.

Mr. Todd scowled, sitting back sown in the armchair and folding his arms. "What do you want with me, you temptress?"

Natalya smirked slightly, walking over to the shelves at the back of the room, fingers trailing over the artifacts. "So familiar." she whispered, picking up a silver dagger, its hilt studded with emeralds.

"Did you come here for anything, or just to look at your precious tools?" Sweeney sneered, getting up and starting to pace in irritation.

Nellie rounded on the Professor, dagger pointed straight at his chest. "Don't take that tone with me, Todd." she snarled eyes flashing red for a moment before returning to normal. "You disrespect her, you disrespect me." a deeper, hiss-like voice came out of the girl's mouth and Sweeney's eyes widened in terror.

The Professor dropped to his knees, head bent in respect. "I'm sorry, me Lord." the man murmured, trembling slightly in fear. "Forgive me."

"Very well. Get up." the hissing voice demanded, Nellie's eyes bleeding into red again. "I have a job for you, Todd. Watch the Potter girl closely. One step out of line and she will regret it, understand?"

Sweeney nodded quickly. "Yes, my Lord. Anything else?"

Nellie nodded and Voldemort answered from her lips. "Make sure she's kept safe. Any harm comes to her and you will be to blame for my displeasure." and with that the red left Nellie's eyes and she made a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh…" she muttered, a bit dizzy, and sat down heavily on a desk. "He hasn't tried that in a long time…" she was silent for a few moments, trying to regain her baring. "What did he say?"

"I need to keep an eye on Myra. According to the Dark Lord she can't take a step out of line."

Nellie smirked, looking very pleased. "He's getting suspicious of her loyalty?"

Sweeney shrugged. "He didn't say. It may be because of her and your little-" he cut off and spun around as the door was flung open. Nellie, however, turned slowly and a bright smile flashed across her face.

Lucius and Snape looked amused at Sweeney's reaction and they strode into the classroom. "What is this? An intervention?" Sweeney grumbled, going into sulk mode.

The two newcomers laughed and shook their heads. "That was a tricky this to do earlier, Todd." Snape said slowly, voice slightly dangerous. "Very dangerous. Could have gotten us all in trouble." he finished as Lucius shut and locked the door with a thud behind them.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sweeney snapped. "I had nothing to do with it."

Snape and Lucius arched an eyebrow and exchanged looks. "Are you sure?" Lucius asked. "Because whoever did must have known about…" he jerked his head towards Nellie, "and Draco. And they must have known a lot."

Nellie rolled her eyes. "I did it, okay?" she said, ignoring Lucius and Snape's shocked and then angered look. "The Dark Lord wanted me to. Draco isn't cooperating, we needed to remind him he wasn't protected anymore." she shrugged.

"He's afraid of my son's betrayal?" Lucius hissed in anger, grey eyes flashing.

"Well you haven't really set a very good example, Luc." Nellie shot back. "And he isn't afraid of Draco betraying him, he's afraid of him getting too close to Myra. He's afraid of Draco thinking he has too much power, now that he's with her."

The three professors exchanged looks before Sweeney sighed, playing with the razors at his waist. "That why he wants me to watch her?" he asked.

Nellie nodded. "Most likely. Not to mention he's pretty unhappy with her false accusations against me." she chuckled.

"You know as well as I do those weren't false." Lucius smirked, making the girl laugh.

"Nuance." she grinned, jumping as there was a knock on the door.

"Sev?" Came Draco's voice, quavering slightly, from the other side of the wooden door. Severus's eyes widened and he shot Nellie a warning look. "Sev, I need to talk to you." Draco said again, voice slightly choked.

"Shit." Nellie whispered, eyes darting to the door as Sweeney disappeared to his office. "This isn't good." she murmured, looking up at Severus. "Keep him calm, please. And…he can't know."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Of course he can't. Just get out, Nellie." he hissed. "You've caused enough trouble already." The girl's eyes flashed, but instead of retorting she spun around and stalked to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open.

Framed in the doorway was the pale face of Draco Malfoy, silvery tears running down his cheeks unchecked. His eyes widened slightly as he saw Nellie standing just inside the shadowy room and she almost did a doubt take, hardly able to believe her eyes. Malfoys didn't cry. She almost smirks as she shoved past him, a strange sense of pride blooming in her chest. She did that. She made Draco Malfoy break. For what was possibly the first time in her life, Nellie wanted the boy to feel pain, to feel agony, to hurt where it hurt most. And she had succeeded.

Draco swallowed, waiting for his own father to sweep out of the room, chewing nervously on his bottom lip. "What's this about?" Lucius asked sternly, but softly, eyeing the tears that decorated Draco's ivory skin.

"Nothing, father." Draco said a bit stiffly, though his countenance screamed defeat. "I'm fine, I just…need to talk to Severus about something." he murmured quietly.

Lucius tilted his head to the side before sighing softly. "Alright, Draco. You stay safe, you hear?" he arched a regal eyebrow and Draco quickly nodded, sniffing softly. "Owl if you need anything." he murmured gently and pressed a loving kiss to his son's forehead before sweeping off in the direction of the school's front doors.

Swallowing, Draco tentatively stepped into Sweeney's classroom, looking at his godfather with watery eyes. "Sev? I-I need to talk to you about something. It's important." he murmured, voice slightly choked.

Severus sighed and nodded, sitting down at one of the desks. "I'm listening, Draco."

With a quiet, wet sigh Draco sat down, playing with his hands. "It's…it's about Nellie. I-I think… well I don't know what to think, but…well I've been having these dreams. Nightmares, really. They're _horrible_. And-and I think they may be because of her." he tried to explain nervously, forcing his tears to remain at bay.

"Nightmares?" Snape frowned a bit, brow furrowing. "What are they about?"

Draco chewed on his lip, looking a bit nervous. "Well… a lot of times it's her being alive, but-but her teeth are all sharp and pointy and-and blood stained. And then…and then she tries to rip out my heart." he finished quietly, sniffing lightly.

There was a moment of silence and Severus rubbed his temple, trying to think of what to say. He may have been Draco's godfather, but he knew nothing of how to deal with the boy's insecurities. "Um…do you know why you're having these nightmares?" he asked uncertainly.

"Why?!" Draco exclaimed, looking up at Severus with slightly wild eyes. "Why the bloody fuck do you think?! It's MY fault she's dead! My fault that fucking man killed her!" he sobbed loudly, his composure finally breaking as tears ran freely from his eyes. He made a choking sound, shaking as sobs rocked his body. "My damn fault!"

Taking a deep breath, Severus tried to keep his composure. "Language, Draco." he reprimanded gently. He reached out tentatively and rubbed Draco's shoulder, a movement he has often seen Lucius do when Draco was especially upset. Eventually it seemed to calm the boy down, at least the sobs got quieter, and Severus was able to speak. "You need to stay calm. She's dead, remember? She can't hurt you, Draco." he said softly.

"I kn-know!" Draco wailed, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. "But I c-can't help it." he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself enough to talk without his voice cracking. "I also need to talk to you about something else…" he mumbled, looking down at his hands.

Severus arched an eyebrow, sincerely hoping Draco wasn't going to ask him about girls or sex or anything like that. The idea alone sent shudders down his spine. "What about?" he asked cautiously, getting ready to bolt if Draco started talking about Myra or naked girls.

Draco took a deep breath before setting a silver bracelet on the desk. "This."

The Potion Master's eyes widened and he slowly picked it up, studying the engravings around the small ring. As he feared they were familiar, a strong binding spell for between two individuals. "What about it?" Severus asked tentatively, handing the bracelet back.

"It…I think the bond isn't broken completely." Draco answered uncertainly. "The bracelet it's…I can still feel it, a little bit." he sighed, playing with the ring of metal. "I don't wear it anymore, but… when I touch it I can feel it."

"What does it feel like?" Severus asked cautiously, trepidation filling him.

The blonde shook his head slightly and looked down. "Kind of…kind of hot. Like someone /has/ been wearing it. And-and sometimes, sometimes it kind of, I don't know, pulses?" he sighed, putting his head in his hands. "It's like the bond is still there." he looked up at Severus hopelessly. "I don't know what to do, Sev."

Severus sighed, looking at the bracelet. "I'm not sure, Draco. All I know is that she's dead and the bond's broken. For all we know it could all just be in your head." he looked at Draco a bit sadly. "I'm sorry, Draco. I wish I could say she's still alive, but I can't."

There was a pause in which Draco tried to process what Severus had said, mouth opening and closing multiple times. Finally he swallowed hard and nodded, fighting back another wave of tears. "I know that, Sev. I can't say I didn't hope, but…I know she's dead. I was there when she was buried, I just…" he shrugged, shaking his head slightly. "Is there any reason why the bracelet would do that if not for the bond?"

"There're many different reasons…" Severus said slowly. "It's possible it's caused by the magic in the bracelet itself…or there could be some mild left-over residue." he sighed and took the bracelet from Draco. "I should hold onto this. Just forget about it, Draco."

Draco's eyes widened and he snatched the bracelet back. "No, I want to keep it." he said quickly, seeing an irritated muscle in Severus's cheek twitch. "It's all I have left of her. The Ministry wouldn't let me have her half, they buried it with her."

"I know." the Potion's Master nodded sadly, unable to help thinking that maybe, just maybe what Nellie did was cruel. Draco was supposed to have let go of her, and now she was making sure he couldn't. Severus was pretty sure that it was Nellie who was making Draco and his bracelet do those things, but he knew, deep down, that Draco could never learn that she was alive. That just made things messy. "But there's no use dwelling on it, Draco." he said softly. "I know that what happened tonight was shocking and…a bit sick. But she's dead, Draco, and she's not coming back. I'm sorry."

With a short nod Draco stood and went to the classroom door. "Thank you, Sev. I-I'll try to just forget about it. Thanks for your help." he smiled slightly before leaving, going directly to the Slytherin's dorms.

Draco glanced at Myra's sleeping form as he undressed and got ready for bed. He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering another sleeping girl he used to watch, her hair splayed over the pillow. But that girl was gone now, he reminded himself. And now her hair lay splayed on a pillow of granite. Slowly Draco crawled into bed and pulled the covers over himself, curling up in a ball and closing his eyes. He slipped off to sleep slowly, dreading the nightmares that would find him in the morning.

:::::::::

In his office Severus rubbed his temples, looking up as Sweeney slipped back into the room. "You've stepped outside your line, Todd." he said, standing up.

Sweeney laughed. "Do you really think I care what that Malfoy brat feels?" he drawled. "I'm just following the Dark Lord's orders."

Severus scowled at the other dark wizard. "Don't forget that brat, as you call him, is still my godson." he went to the door. "And are you following the Dark Lord's orders, or hers." he hissed.

The other man's eyes darkened. "They're the same orders."

"No, they're not. She has an agenda, and it's not the Dark Lord's." Severus muttered, giving Sweeney a warning look. "And I don't care who you're following, you hurt him again, I'll hurt you." he threatened before turning on his heel and disappearing into the darkened corridors.


End file.
